Indus T211 THORPEDO N211LS

Summary

On 5 October 2007 at about 00:52 local time, a Indus T211 THORPEDO registered N211LS, operated by Aviator Air Center, was involved in an accident near Denton, Texas, United States. 2 people were on board and one was seriously injured, one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

5 October 2007 at 00:52

Classification

Accident

Location

Denton, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Denton Municipal Airport (KDTO)

Coordinates

32.2158, -97.1978

Aircraft

Indus T211 THORPEDO

Registration

N211LS

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Aviator Air Center

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Grand Praire → Grand Prairie

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

DFW08LA001

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's improper preflight planning and preparation which led to his getting lost on a local area flight and his failure to maintain clearance from the trees. Contributing to the accident were the prevailing dark night illumination and the pilot's lack of night flight experience.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The certificated sport pilot was on a local flight when he noticed that daylight was quickly fading. The pilot immediately elected to initiate a return flight. During the return flight, the pilot became disoriented instead of heading eastbound; he proceeded to follow a highway in a northbound direction. The pilot never saw the city skyline and continued northbound. When the pilot observed a lake thinking it was the one just south of his destination airport, he reported to the control tower that he was over the spillway and entering downwind. However, the flight was actually entering the traffic pattern at a different airport; 31.1 nautical miles north of his intended destination. The pilot turned base leg, overflew the final approach, and then executed a right 270-degree turn for another approach. At this point, the pilot became aware he was at a different airport, but had to land somewhere due to darkness. The pilot avoided the runway approach lights, but flew into the trees short of the runway. The end of civil twilight and beginning of night for this date was 1934 CDT.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.