Titan TORNADO N31311

Summary

On 30 April 2023 at about 22:00 local time, a Titan TORNADO registered N31311 was involved in an accident near Lewisville, Arkansas, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

30 April 2023 at 22:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Lewisville, Arkansas, United States

Coordinates

33.2655, -93.5740

Aircraft

Titan TORNADO

Registration

N31311

Category

Airplane

Year built

2007

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Haynesville

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN23FA167

1 person died.

The non-certificated pilot’s failure to maintain airspeed and his exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and loss of control at an altitude too low to recover.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Before the flight, the non-certificated pilot stated to the private airstrip owner that he was going to demonstrate the airplane’s climb performance during the takeoff and departure. The airstrip owner reported that the pilot performed a steep climbing takeoff and then initiated a left turn over wooded terrain. A witness, located near the departure end of the airstrip, reported that she thought the airplane was going to impact a tree in her yard due to its low altitude. The airplane then banked to the left before impacting the tree canopy southeast of her residence. The airplane entered the trees in a left-wing-down position before coming to rest inverted in a marsh. Both the private airstrip owner and the witness stated that the surface wind was gusting at the time of the accident. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The ethanol detected in the pilot’s cavity blood was likely from sources other than alcohol consumption, and it is unlikely that ethanol effects contributed to the accident. Based on the available evidence, it is likely that the non-certificated pilot failed to maintain airspeed during a steep initial climb and low-altitude turn, which led to an exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack, aerodynamic stall, and loss of control at an altitude too low to recover.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.