Golden Circle Air T BIRD II N92744

Summary

On 13 December 2015 at about 22:24 local time, a Golden Circle Air T BIRD II registered N92744 was involved in an accident near Lenoir, North Carolina, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 December 2015 at 22:24

Classification

Accident

Location

Lenoir, North Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Lower Creek (NC27)

Coordinates

35.9444, -81.4900

Aircraft

Golden Circle Air T BIRD II

Registration

N92744

Category

Airplane

Year built

2001

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lenoir → Lenoir

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

ERA16LA067

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain airspeed and a coordinated turn in the traffic pattern, which resulted in the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack and entering an aerodynamic stall and spin. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s failure to remove the airframe parachute activation handle locking pin before flight.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot was departing in the experimental light sport airplane. Onboard video footage from a wingtip-mounted camera provided a view of the cockpit. The pilot could be seen with his left hand on the control yoke, but his right hand, which was near the engine throttle, was obscured. The airplane took off and completed the upwind leg of the traffic pattern, and the pilot initiated a right turn toward the crosswind leg. The sound of the engine was smooth and continuous throughout the takeoff and climb. As the airplane entered the turn, a reduction in power was heard, but the engine sound remained smooth and continuous. At the moment of power reduction and the initiation of the turn, the pilot simultaneously applied left aileron, right rudder, and back pressure on the yoke. As the airplane rolled right and nosed down into a spin, the engine could be heard accelerating. The "Remove Before Flight" flag on the locking pin for the airframe parachute deployment handle was observed in the camera's field of view, as the pilot struggled with one hand and then two hands to remove the pin during the descent. Eventually, the pilot freed the pin and actuated the deployment handle as the nose of the airplane entered the tops of the trees. Postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed no pre-impact mechanical anomalies. The airframe parachute was free from its canister, but was not fully deployed due to the airplane's low altitude at the time of deployment. The video footage of the pilot simultaneously reducing engine power, increasing the airplane's pitch attitude, and applying opposite aileron and rudder controls is consistent with a cross-controlled aerodynamic stall and subsequent spin.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.