Halbert James H RANS S-7 N615JH

Summary

On 6 September 2009 at about 23:50 local time, a Halbert James H RANS S-7 registered N615JH was involved in an accident near Short, Oklahoma, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 September 2009 at 23:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Short, Oklahoma, United States

Coordinates

35.5869, -94.4750

Aircraft

Halbert James H RANS S-7

Registration

N615JH

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Short → Short

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN09CA563

2 people had minor injuries.

A partial loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The sport pilot was departing the 1,200 foot grass strip. He reported that the takeoff was normal until passing 250 feet above ground level. The engine began losing power without associated roughness or engine vibration. The pilot did not observe the gauges and focused on finding a suitable landing area. Since the airplane's flight path was toward slightly rising terrain, the pilot elected to turn the airplane toward a suitable landing area. During the turn, the airplane began losing altitude and the pilot performed a forced landing to an uncut hay field. Despite trying to keep the wings level, the left wing struck the hay first resulting in the airplane pivoting around the left wing tip. The airplane rotated 180 degrees before coming to rest in the upright position. A fire started near the lower portion of the engine and the passenger assisted with the pilot's egress prior to the airplane becoming engulfed in flames. Due to the remote location, the pilot reported that the fire response took 30 minutes. The pilot reported that the engine had operated normally prior to the accident flight without any indications of an impending failure. Thermal damage prevented a thorough investigation of the engine and the reason for the partial loss of engine power could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.