# Accident 19970419006179A: Boeing N2S4, Apex, NC, April 19, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 19, 1997, 12:00 local time
- Place: Apex, NC
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Descent
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 35.7256° N, 78.8799° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Apex, NC, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.7256&lon=-78.8799&mi=10
- Aircraft: N61S, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N61S) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Boeing N2S-4 (registry code 1380142, https://openairdocs.org/model/boeing-n2s-4) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental W670 series (registry code 17018, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-w670-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BOEING N2S4
- Reported engine: CONT W6706A
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 987 total, 917 in this make and model, 1 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970419006179A

## Narrative

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

PERFORMED LOOP FORM 30 FT AGL. DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH ALTITUDE TO COMPLETE THE MANUVER AND IMPACTED WATER. (-23) ON APRIL 20, 1997, AT 1200 PM EDST, A BOEING STEARMAN N2S1, REGISTRATION NUMBER N61S, REGISTERED TO AND FLOWN BY JAMES R. CAUDELL, AGE 70, WHO OCCUPIED THE REAR PILOT'S SEAT, CRASHED IN LAKE JORDAN, NORTH CAROLINA.  HIS SON-IN-LAW, SCOTT W. VOGE. AGE 33, WHO OCCUPIED THE FRONT SEAT, WAS FATALLY INJURED AS WELL AS MR. CAUDILL. MR CAUDELL HAD BEEN FLYING FOR TEN YEARS. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM KENNEBEC, NC THE SAME DAY ABOUT 1100AM. WITNESSES OBSERVED THE AIRCRAFT APPROACH THE BRIDGE AT US HIGHWAY 64 FLYING NORTH OVER THE BRIDGE AND DESCEND TO ABOUT 30 FEET ABOVE THE SMOOTH WATER.  A LOOP AEROBATIC MANEUVER WAS INITIATED ONE MILE NORTH OF THE BRIDGE.  THE BIPLANE ATTEMPTED TO PULL OUT OF THE BACK SIDE OF THE LOOP BUT IMPACTED THE WATER AT 45 DEGREES IN A NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE.  WITNESSES SAW THE AIRCRAFT INTACT.  IT APPEARED TO BE NORMAL AND THE ENGNE OPERATING UNDER POWER.  BOTH PILOTS HAD SEAT BELTS AND SHOULDER HARNESSES ON.  HOWEVER, BOTH OF THE PILOTS' HEADS SMASHED THE INSTRUMENT PANELS INDICATING THAT THE SHOULDER HARNESSES                                               WERE NOT TIGHT. THE AIRCRAFT SANK IN 20 FEET OF WATER.  RESCUE TEAMS WERE ON SCENE WITHIN A FEW MINUTES AND HAD TO CUT THE PILOTS' SHOULDER STRAPS IN ORDER TO RECOVER THE BODIES FROM THE SUBMERGED AIRCRAFT.  AUTOPSIES AND CHEMICAL SUBSTANCE TESTS WERE PERFORMED AT UNC MEDICAL CENTER.  INITIAL VERBAL REPORTS INDICATE NEGATIVE ALCOHOL OR DRUGS FOR BOTH PILOTS.

## NTSB investigation

None matched to this report by aircraft and date. Search the NTSB's own records: https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-main-public/basic-search

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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