# Accident 19971021030709A: Extra EA300, Radnor, OH, October 21, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 21, 1997, 12:20 local time
- Place: Radnor, OH
- Airport: Packer Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Descent
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 40.3904° N, 83.1791° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.3904&lon=-83.1791&mi=10
- Aircraft: N11EX, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N11EX-2000-05-08) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Extra Flugzeugbau EA300/200 (registry code 7021803, https://openairdocs.org/model/extra-flugzeugbau-ea300-200) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: EXTRA EA300
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 1,992 total, 30 in this make and model
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC98FA017](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC98FA017) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19971021030709A

## Narrative

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

ACFT TOOK OFF FROM GRASS STRIP DOVE STRGT INTO GROUND AND EXPLODED PILOT SUFFERED FATAL INJ RADNER, OH. (.19) ROLLED INVERTED ON CLIMBOUT. TRIED SPLIT S OUT BUT TOO LOW FOR FULL RECOVERY. (.4) A WITNESS OBSERVED THE PILOT PERFORM A REVERSE HALF-CUBAN EIGHT DURING THE INITIAL TAKEOFF CLIMB.  AT APPROXIMATELY 500 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL  (AGL) THE PILOT ATTEMPTED TO COMPLETE THE MANEUVER FROM THE INVERTED POSITION; HOWEVER, APPROXIMATELY 30 DEGREES NOSE DOWN, THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED THE GROUND.  THE WITNESS FURTHER STATED THAT THE AIRPLANE 'DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH ALTITUDE TO CLEAR THE GROUND.'  THE PILOT PURCHASED THE AIRPLANE NEW IN JUNE, 1997.  IT WAS ESTIMATED THAT THE PILOT HAD ABOUT 30 HOURS EXPERIENCE IN THE MAKE AND MODEL ACCIDENT AIRPLANE. THE PILOT HAD LOGGED A TOTAL OF 272 FLIGHTS WHICH CONSISTED OF 113 HOURS DURING THE MONTH OF  APRIL, 1997 IN A SWIFT S-1 GLIDER.  THE PILOT WAS PREVIOUSLY NAMED A UNITED STATES NATIONAL GLIDER AEROBATIC CHAMPION.  INTERVIEWS WITH TWO PROFESSIONAL AEROBATIC PILOTS INDICATED THAT AN ALTITUDE OF 500 FEET AGL WAS REQUIRED TO COMPLETE THE MANEUVER IN A GLIDER.  FOR THE MAKE AND MODEL ACCIDENT AIRPLANE, A MINIMUM ALTITUDE WOULD BE 600 FEET AGL DEPEND ING ON CONDITIONS SUCH AS AIRSPEED AND DENSITY ALTITUDE, AND THAT THEIR PERSONAL MINIMUMS WERE 800 FEET AGL. (-23) AIRMAN TOOK OFF TO THE WEST AT APPROX. 45 DEGREES CLIMB ANGLE AND 400 FEET AGL.  HE COMPLETED A HALF SNAP ROLL TO THE RIGHT, CONTINUED TO CLIMB INVERTED AND THEN ATTEMPTED TO PULL THROUGH INTO A HALF LOOP.  AIRCRAFT IMPACTED THE GROUND EXPLODED AND CAUGHT FIRE.

## 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 NYC98FA017](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC98FA017), Oct 21, 1997: Extra Flugzeugbau EA-200 (N11EX), Radnor, OH, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The failure of the pilot to obtain the proper altitude/clearance above the terrain, to perform an aerobatic maneuver. A factor was the pilot's lack of total experience in make and model.

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.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.