Christen A-1 N661FB

Summary

On 30 July 2007 at about 13:00 local time, a Christen A-1 registered N661FB was involved in an accident near Elm Springs, South Dakota, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 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

30 July 2007 at 13:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Elm Springs, South Dakota, United States

Coordinates

44.2625, -102.5269

Aircraft

Christen A-1

Registration

N661FB

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Wall → Wall

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI07TA241

2 people had minor injuries.

The pilot not maintaining clearance from the rising terrain. A factor contributing to the accident was the rising terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane impacted rising terrain while maneuvering on a public use animal control flight. The pilot said that he had turned and was heading south and had begun a shallow descent to maintain a constant altitude above down-sloping terrain. The pilot said, "As we continued to descend I noticed a slight rise in the terrain and determined that we had plenty of altitude to clear that rise and continued on with my southerly flight path and shallow descent. As we approached the slight rise in the terrain the pressure in the stick changed very quickly with a movement in the pitch axis only. The pressure came back immediately and then there was another pressure change in the stick that was a little more pronounced. This movement was identical to the other in that it was a pitch change only; there was no movement in the roll direction. After the second time the pitch change changed I made a remark to the gunner and the crash took place." Flight control continuity was confirmed. An examination of the airplane's systems revealed no anomalies.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.