Bristell E-LSA N167BL

Summary

On 24 July 2016 at about 23:05 local time, a Bristell E-LSA registered N167BL, operated by Sport Flying USA, Inc., was involved in an accident near Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

24 July 2016 at 23:05

Classification

Accident

Location

Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States

Nearest airport

Witmann Regional Airport (OSH)

Coordinates

43.9611, -88.5569

Aircraft

Bristell E-LSA

Registration

N167BL

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Sport Flying USA, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Watertown → Oshkosh

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN16LA283

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot’s exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack on short final approach, which resulted in an inadvertent aerodynamic stall and subsequent loss of control. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s distraction with other traffic in the area.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The accident airplane was the trailing airplane in a flight of two landing on runway 36L at Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture when the accident occurred. The pilot reported that, while on final approach, he heard an air traffic control transmission telling a canard airplane to land on runway 36R. Mistaking the transmission for 36L, the pilot stated that he began to look for the canard airplane, which diverted his attention from the lead airplane and resulted in a loss of separation. As he approached the lead airplane's right wing, he reduced the engine power and pitched up to slow his airplane. He stated his airplane banked "hard to the right;" he corrected by banking to the left, which, combined with the airplane's nose-high pitch attitude, resulted in an aerodynamic stall. Although the pilot stated that he was directly behind and below the lead airplane, and encountered the airplane's wake turbulence and prop wash, a GoPro camera mounted on the left wing of the accident airplane showed that the airplane remained behind and above the lead airplane; therefore, it is unlikely that the accident airplane encountered wake turbulence. The GoPro footage was consistent with the accident airplane slowing then subsequently experiencing an aerodynamic stall. It is likely that the pilot slowed the airplane excessively as he attempted to maintain separation and exceeded the airplane's critical angle of attack.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.