Ferguson FERGY 1 N2515E

Summary

On 6 August 2011 at about 13:20 local time, a Ferguson FERGY 1 registered N2515E, operated by Thomas & Diane Lake, was involved in an accident near Falcon, Colorado, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 August 2011 at 13:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Falcon, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Meadow Lake (KFLY)

Coordinates

38.9456, -104.5697

Aircraft

Ferguson FERGY 1

Registration

N2515E

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Thomas & Diane Lake

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Falcon → Falcon

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN11FA572

2 people were seriously injured.

A loss of control for undetermined reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Witnesses saw the airplane take off and climb to about 75 to 100 feet. The airplane banked steeply to the right--one witness said about 90 degrees--before the nose dropped 45 degrees and the airplane impacted a hangar. The student pilot told first responders that he didn't know what happened. He reportedly told ambulance personnel he heard a "pop" and thought a rudder cable had snapped. He later told his wife that he thought a thermal or wind gust pushed the airplane. According to the sheriff's report, the student pilot said something on the aircraft had broken. The student pilot reported to the NTSB that he did not recall saying that a rudder cable had snapped. Although control continuity was traced throughout the structure, there were numerous control cable separations. The cable separations were consistent with overload failures, likely due to impact forces.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.