Sikes ZENITH CH750 STOL N925PS

Summary

On 22 May 2016 at about 18:30 local time, a Sikes ZENITH CH750 STOL registered N925PS was involved in an accident near Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, 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

22 May 2016 at 18:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, United States

Nearest airport

Lawrenceburg-Lawrence County (2M2)

Coordinates

35.2344, -87.2581

Aircraft

Sikes ZENITH CH750 STOL

Registration

N925PS

Category

Airplane

Year built

2016

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lawrenceburg → Lawrenceburg

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA16LA191

2 people had minor injuries.

The pilot's failure to perform an adequate preflight inspection, which resulted in a loss of control due to an improperly-rigged rudder. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to implement and follow proper flight-testing plans.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The sport pilot, who was the owner of the light sport airplane that he had partially assembled, was conducting the airplane's first test flight and had a passenger on board. He stated that, after takeoff, he applied right rudder to maintain runway heading, but the airplane continued to the left. As he applied more right rudder, the severity of the turn increased. The airplane departed the left side of the runway and the airport property and struck trees and terrain before it came to rest. Postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed that the rudder was rigged backward, which would have resulted in a left turn upon right pedal application and vice-versa. Examination of maintenance receipts and interviews with the pilot revealed that the pilot purchased the airplane partially assembled. The pilot and mechanics who he hired completed the assembly; however, after the work by other mechanics, the pilot would at times change or redo their work. Although it could not be determined when the rudder was improperly rigged, a preflight inspection would have revealed the discrepancy; therefore, it is unlikely that the pilot conducted a proper preflight inspection before departing on the flight. Additionally, no documentation was found that suggested the pilot had performed planning for the test flight in accordance with Federal Aviation Administration-issued guidance.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.