Steele Ralph Bruce STEEN SKYBOLT N858RS

Summary

On 11 May 2013 at about 19:45 local time, a Steele Ralph Bruce STEEN SKYBOLT registered N858RS was involved in an accident near Windsor, North Carolina, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

11 May 2013 at 19:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Windsor, North Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Todd's Airport

Coordinates

36.0581, -76.8639

Aircraft

Steele Ralph Bruce STEEN SKYBOLT

Registration

N858RS

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Windsor → Louisburg

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA13LA238

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's decision to initiate an aerobatic maneuver with insufficient altitude to recover before ground impact.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of the experimental homebuilt aerobatic biplane reported that he decided to do some "maneuvers." After takeoff, he did one flyby in an easterly direction along the runway and then did a second one. At the end of the second flyby, he pulled up to between 300 and 500 feet and performed a "wingover" maneuver. According to the pilot, at the bottom of the wingover, he noticed that the engine did not respond when he advanced the throttle and that the rpm was decreasing through 2,000. The airplane then descended into a field and impacted terrain. According to federal regulations, no person may operate an aircraft in aerobatic flight below an altitude of 1,500 feet above the surface. Examination of the accident site revealed two 40-foot-long impressions that matched the geometry of the main landing gear and ended at the point where the airplane made initial ground contact with its left wing. The airplane then continued traveling forward for another 200 feet after initial ground contact before dissipating its energy and coming to rest. The impact evidence indicates that the airplane was well above its stall speed at impact. Further, examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of any preimpact malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation, and the crush and compression damage to the lower left wing was consistent with the airplane incurring a high-G impact. Additionally, the G-meter indicated 5 1/2 Gs positive and 3 1/2 Gs negative.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.