Caldwell GLASAIR II N706C

Summary

On 14 October 2004 at about 16:00 local time, a Caldwell GLASAIR II registered N706C was involved in an accident near Hermiston, Oregon, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

14 October 2004 at 16:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Hermiston, Oregon, United States

Nearest airport

Hermiston Municipal Airport (KHRI)

Coordinates

45.8231, -119.2775

Aircraft

Caldwell GLASAIR II

Registration

N706C

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hermiston → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA05LA006

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain an airspeed above stall speed while executing a wingover maneuver at the top of a vertical climb, leading to an inadvertent spin, and the pilot's inadequate remedial action in attempting to recover from the spin. Factors include performing aerobatic maneuvers close to the terrain.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

After performing a number of low-level aerobatic maneuvers to the east of the airport, the pilot made a low-level pass over the runway from east to west. He then executed a rapid pull-up, and climbed on a near-vertical line. As the aircraft climbed, its airspeed decreased to the point that when the pilot executed a wingover maneuver at the top of the climb, the aircraft entered a spin. It then spun two or three times to the left, before its rotation rate began to decrease. As the rotation rate decreased, the pilot attempted to pull out of the dive, but the aircraft impacted the terrain and immediately burst into flames. There was no indication of any problems with the flight controls, nor any evidence that there had been a malfunction associated with the engine.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.