# Accident 20010816022289A: Amtr STITSSA6B, Elko, NV, August 16, 2001 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: August 16, 2001, 08:25 local time - Place: Elko, NV - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Normal Cruise - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 40.9503° N, 115.7891° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.9503&lon=-115.7891&mi=10 - Aircraft: N5628, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N5628-2002-01-09) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Humphreys STITTS SA6B (registry code 8650913, https://openairdocs.org/model/humphreys-stitts-sa6b) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Continental 0-200 series (registry code 17020, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-200-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: AMTR STITSSA6B - Reported engine: CONT O200* - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 1,672 total, 1 in this make and model, 142 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX01LA280](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX01LA280) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010816022289A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23) WHILE FLYING UP A CANYON AT A LOW ALTITUDE (AGL) THE PILOT, MR WENGER, ATTEMPTED A LEFT TURN IN AN ATTEMPT TO FLY BACK OUT OF THE CANYON. AT THIS TIME THE AIRCRAFT EXPERIENCED A STALL SHUDDER AND THE PILOT LEVELED THE WINGS AND LOWERED THE NOSE IN AN ATTEMPT TO CONTINUE FLYING. THE AIRCRAFT CONTINUED TO LOSE LIFT AND A CRASH LANDING ENSUED. (.19) ON AUGUST 16, 2001, AT 0825 HOURS PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME, AN EXPERIMENTAL HUMPHREYS SA6B, N5628, IMPACTED MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN AND BURNED IN THE RUBY MOUNTAINS, 20 MILE EAST OF ELKO, NEVADA. THE COMMERCIAL CERTIFICATED PILOT WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED AND THE STUDENT PILOT CERTIFICATED SECOND PILOT RECEIVED MINOR INJURIES. THE AMATEUR-BUILT AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED. THE LOCAL AREA PERSONAL FLIGHT WAS OPERATED BY THE OWNER UNDER 14 CFR PART 91 AND DEPARTED FROM ELKO AT 0728. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE SECOND (STUDENT) PILOT HAD RECENTLY PURCHASED THE AIRPLANE AND PLANNED TO FLY IT SOLO ON THE MORNING OF THE ACCIDENT. HE TOLD AN INSPECTOR FROM THE RENO FLIGHT STANDARDS DISTRICT OFFICE THAT THE FIRST PILOT LANDED IN ELKO THAT MORNING IN AN AIR TAXI/CARGO AIRCRAFT AND AS KED IF HE COULD GO FLYING WITH THE STUDENT PILOT. ACCORDING TO THE STUDENT PILOT/OWNER, HE WAS LETTING THE OTHER PILOT FLY THE AIRPLANE. THE FIRST PILOT MANEUVERED INTO A MOUNTAIN CANYON AND THE OWNER/STUDENT PILOT EXPRESSED HIS RESERVATIONS. THE CANYON WAS A "BOX" CANYON AND THE TERRAIN ROSE FASTER THAT THE 100-HORSEPOWER AIRPLANE COULD CLIMB. THE FIRST PILOT ATTEMPTED, TOO LATE, TO REVERSE COURSE AND, AS THEY WERE TURNING TO FLY BACK DOWN THE CANYON, THE AIRPLANE SHOOK IN PRESTALL BUFFET WHILE ABOUT 5 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL. THE PILOT LOWERED THE NOSE AND THEY CRASHED. (.4) ON AUGUST 16, 2001, AT 0825 HOURS PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME, AN EXPERIMENTAL HUMPHREYS STITTS SA6B, N5628, IMPACTED MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN AND BURNED IN THE RUBY MOUNTAINS, 20 MILE EAST OF ELKO, NEVADA. THE COMMERCIAL CERTIFICATED PILOT WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED AND THE STUDENT PILOT CERTIFICATED SECOND PILOT RECEIVED MINOR INJURIES. THE AMATEUR-BUILT AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED. THE LOCAL AREA PERSONAL FLIGHT WAS OPERATED BY THE OWNER UNDER 14 CFR PART 91, AND DEPARTED FROM ELKO AT 0728. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE SECOND (STUDENT) PILOT HAD RECENTLY PURC HASED THE AIRPLANE AND PLANNED TO FLY IT SOLO ON THE MORNING OF THE ACCIDENT. HE TOLD AN INSPECTOR FROM THE RENO, NEVADA, FLIGHT STANDARDS DISTRICT OFFICE THAT THE FIRST PILOT LANDED IN ELKO THAT MORNING IN AN AIR TAXI/CARGO AIRCRAFT AND ASKED IF HE COULD GO FLYING WITH THE STUDENT PILOT. ACCORDING TO THE STUDENT PILOT/OWNER, HE WAS LETTING THE OTHER PILOT FLY THE AIRPLANE. THE FIRST PILOT MANEUVERED INTO A MOUNTAIN CANYON AND THE OWNER/STUDENT PILOT EXPRESSED HIS RESERVATIONS. THE CANYON WAS A "BOX" CANYON AND THE TERRAIN ROSE FASTER THAT THE 100-HORSEPOWER AIRPLANE COULD CLIMB. THE FIRST PILOT ATTEMPTED, TOO LATE, TO REVERSE COURSE AND, AS THEY WERE TURNING TO FLY BACK DOWN THE CANYON, THE AIRPLANE SHOOK IN PRE-STALL BUFFET WHILE ABOUT 5 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL. THE PILOT LOWERED THE NOSE AND THEY CRASHED. IN HIS REPORT TO THE SAFETY BOARD, IN THE SECTION ON RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PREVENTING THE ACCIDENT, THE FIRST PILOT WROTE "MORE FAMILIARITY WITH TERRAIN AND AIRCRAFT PERFORMANCE." THE PILOT REPORTED THERE WERE NO MECHANICAL MALFUNCTIONS WITH THE AIRCRAFT, AND THAT THE ACCIDENT SITE ELEVATION WAS APPROXIMATELY 7,200 FEET MSL. ## 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 LAX01LA280](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX01LA280), Aug 16, 2001: Humphreys Stitts SA6B (N5628), Elko, NV, destroyed. Probable cause: The failure of the pilot-in-command to reverse course in a timely manner after flying into a box canyon. Factors in the accident were the pilot's lack of familiarity with the aircraft and the local… 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.