Gregory Newman SONEX TRAINER N543SX

Summary

On 5 February 2018 at about 16:25 local time, a Gregory Newman SONEX TRAINER registered N543SX was involved in an accident near Carrabelle, Florida, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

5 February 2018 at 16:25

Classification

Accident

Location

Carrabelle, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Carrabelle-Thompson (X13)

Coordinates

29.8419, -84.7011

Aircraft

Gregory Newman SONEX TRAINER

Registration

N543SX

Category

Airplane

Year built

2014

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Carrabelle → Carrabelle

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA18LA083

1 person died.

A loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined because the airplane was not recovered. Also causal was the pilot's decision to conduct a low-altitude turn following the loss of engine power, which resulted in an exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack and an aerodynamic stall.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot had been having engine issues on his single-engine, experimental, amateur-built airplane and the purpose of the flight was to test the engine. A witness heard the pilot start the airplane's engine, taxi to the runway, and depart without conducting an engine run-up. When the airplane was about halfway down the 4,000-ft-long runway, he heard the engine lose power. The witness looked up and saw the airplane about 100 ft above the runway; it then entered an "aggressive bank" to the left and subsequently stalled and descended "straight down." The airplane came to rest upright in heavily wooded and swampy terrain about 250 yards north of the airport. The airplane was not recovered from the swamp or examined, and the reason for the loss of engine power was not determined. The pilot succumbed to his injuries after being transported to the hospital. The pilot's admission blood was submitted by the medical examiner for toxicology and the results were negative for all items tested. Postmortem toxicology identified several medications that were likely given as part of postaccident medical treatment, as well as sildenafil, diphenhydramine, and zolpidem. Though diphenhydramine and zolpidem are impairing drugs, it is unlikely that effects from these medications contributed to the accident circumstances. Given the witness statement, it is likely that the pilot exceeded the airplane's critical angle of attack during the attempted return to the runway following the loss of engine power, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and impact with terrain.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.