Lancair LANCAIR 360 N9GX

Summary

On 24 April 2006 at about 15:45 local time, a Lancair LANCAIR 360 registered N9GX was involved in an accident near Charleston, South Carolina, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

24 April 2006 at 15:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Charleston, South Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

East Cooper (8S5)

Coordinates

32.8919, -79.7764

Aircraft

Lancair LANCAIR 360

Registration

N9GX

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Charleston → Charleston

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL06LA070

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain sufficient airspeed during a climb to preclude a stall, which resulted in a loss of control and an in-flight collision with terrain. A factor associated with the accident was an inadvertent stall.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

In a statement provided to an FAA inspector, a witness stated that he saw the airplane make two low passes over runway 17. He also stated that the engine sounded like it was running smoothly, but quietly. On a third pass, the pilot raised the landing gear and started to climb. He began a normal left turn to crosswind. The witness stated that he might have looked away for a second, and "when I looked back, the wings had rotated to what appeared to be almost a 90-degree bank." The witness also said that, " the nose of the aircraft dropped to almost vertical, the aircraft dove into the ground, but I did not observe any fire or smoke." FAA inspectors arrived at the scene and reported that the airplane was located in a marsh area with the nose embedded in the ground, facing the runway. Examination by the FAA inspectors revealed a residual amount of fuel in fuel lines, fuel transducer, and fuel flow divider. Examination of the airplane's structure, flight controls, and engine revealed no evidence of precrash anomalies.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.