# Accident 19970302003709A: Amtr WINDEX1200C, Wauchula, FL, March 2, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 2, 1997, 16:46 local time
- Place: Wauchula, FL
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 27.5409° N, 81.8005° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=27.5409&lon=-81.8005&mi=10
- Aircraft: N1201G, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N1201G-2013-08-22) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Hackett Russell WINDEX 1200 C (registry code 05604ES, https://openairdocs.org/model/hackett-russell-windex-1200-c) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Amateur-built UNKNOWN ENG (registry code 99999, https://openairdocs.org/engine/amateur-built-unknown-eng) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AMTR WINDEX1200C
- Reported engine: AMTR SC430
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 1,500 total, 60 in this make and model
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA97LA091](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA97LA091) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970302003709A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(.4)THE HOME BUILT, POWERED GLIDER WAS BEING FLOWN ON A FLIGHT TO CONDUCT A STALL TEST AT 3,000 FEET. A WITNESS OBSERVED THE POWERED SAILPLANE FLYING WESTBOUND AT LOW ALTITUDE. ACCORDING TO THE WITNESS, THE POWERED SAILPLANE ENTERED AN ABRUPT TURN TO THE EAST, THEN IT STARTED ROTATING TO THE LEFT IN A DESCENT UNTIL IT DISAPPEARED FROM VIEW BELOW A TREE LINE. EXAMINATION OF THE CRASH SITE REVEALED EVIDENCE THAT THE POWERED SAILPLANE COLLIDED WITH THE GROUND IN A NEAR VERTICAL DESCENT, 10-DEGREE NOSE-UP ATTITUDE, WITH NO EVIDENCE OF FORWARD MOTION, ROTATING AROUND ITS VERTICAL AXIS TO THE LEFT. EXAMINATION OF THE AIRFRAME, FLIGHT CONTROL ASSEMBLY, ENGINE ASSEMBLY, AND ACCESSORIES REVEALED NO EVIDENCE OF A PRECRASH MECHANICAL FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION. THE POWERED SAILPLANE HAD ACCUMULATED ABOUT 4 HOURS OF FLIGHT TIME, SINCE IT WAS BUILT. (-23) ON MARCH 2, 1997, PILOT LARS R. BERGSTROM, PRIVATE PILOT CERTIFICATE NUMBER 261471587, WAS FLYING AIRCRAFT N1201G, AN EXPERIMENTAL CERTIFICATE POWERED GLIDER IN THE VICINITY OF WAUCHULA, FLORIDA.  THE WEATHER WAS GOOD VFR WITH SCATTERED CLOUDS AT 8 THOUSAND FEET WITH 10 MILES VISIBILITY. AT AR                                                       OUND 1647 EST, A WITNESS STATED THAT MR. BERGSTROM WAS PROCEEDING WEST BOUND AT A VERY LOW ALTITUDE WHEN HE ABRUPTLY ENTERED A HARD OVER TURN WHICH RESULTED IN A FLAT SPIN. THE AIRCRAFT LANDED IN A PASTURE ABOUT 3 MILES WEST OF WAUCHULA, FLORIDA.  THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK THE GROUND IN A NEAR VERTICAL DESCENT, ROTATING AROUND ITS VERTICAL AXIS TO THE LEFT, IN A TEN DEGREE NOSE UP ATTITUDE, WITH NO EVIDENCE OF FORWARD MOTION.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB MIA97LA091](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA97LA091), Mar 2, 1997: Hackett Windex 1200C (N1201G), Wauchula, FL, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: failure of the pilot to maintain adequate airspeed, while maneuvering, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin and subsequent collision with terrain.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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