Aeroprakt A 20 VISTA CRUISER N55US

Summary

On 17 July 2017 at about 00:10 local time, a Aeroprakt A 20 VISTA CRUISER registered N55US was involved in an accident near Shirley, New York, 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

17 July 2017 at 00:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Shirley, New York, United States

Nearest airport

Brookhaven Airport (HWV)

Coordinates

40.8219, -72.8669

Aircraft

Aeroprakt A 20 VISTA CRUISER

Registration

N55US

Category

Airplane

Year built

2006

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Shirley → Shirley

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA17LA247

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadvertent activation of the engine's choke control during a downdraft encounter, which resulted in a total loss of engine power.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot reported that he was conducting touch-and-go landings and that, while on final approach, the experimental, light sport airplane encountered a downdraft, and the engine lost total power. The pilot was unable to restart the engine or glide the airplane to the runway, and it impacted trees. The engine was test run successfully several times, and no anomalies were noted. The engine's choke control was located near the throttle lever. During the test runs, the engine lost total power if the choke control was moved about halfway (1 inch). It is likely that the pilot's hand was on the throttle lever and that it inadvertently bumped the choke control during the downdraft encounter, which resulted in a total loss of engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.