# Accident 20020922024469A: Amtr RANSS12XL, Bluff, UT, September 22, 2002

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 22, 2002, 15:30 local time
- Place: Bluff, UT
- Damage: Destroyed
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 37.3219° N, 109.9553° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.3219&lon=-109.9553&mi=10
- Aircraft: N725ST, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N725ST-2003-01-08) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Sabian Kenneth A RANS S12-XL (registry code 05607MJ, https://openairdocs.org/model/sabian-kenneth-a-rans-s12-xl) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Bombardier ROTAX (ALL) (registry code 09050, https://openairdocs.org/engine/bombardier-rotax-all) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AMTR RANSS12XL
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB DEN02LA109](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN02LA109) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020922024469A

## Narrative

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

(-23) AIRCRAFT WAS OBSERVED FLYING UP THE CENTER OF A STEEP WALLED CANYON APPROXIMATELY 400 FEET BELOW THE RIM. AND 200 TO 300 FEET ABOVE THE CANYON FLOOR AIRCRAFT ATTEMPTED TO TURN AROUND, NOSE RAISED, LEFT WING ABRUPTLY LOWERED AND BALLISTIC EMERGENCY RECOVERY SYSTEM PARACHUTE DEPLOYED WHILE ENGINE WAS STILL RUNNING. PARACHUTE DID NOT INFLATE BUT REMAINED STREMERED TRAILING BEHIND THE AIRCRAFT. PARACHUTE MAIN RISER FAILED 4 FEET FROM THE AIRCRAFT, SUPPOSED CUT BY PROPELLER, AIRCRAFT CRASHED INVERTED INTO ROCKS AND STEEP LOWER SLOPE OF CANYON. POST CRASH FIRE AND AN EXPLOSION 2-3 MINUTES AFTER IMPACT. PARACHUTE LANDED 82 FEET AWAY FROM THE WRECKAGE. PILOT DID NOT COMPLY WITH MANUFACTURERS WARNING THAT THE ENGINE MUST BE SHUT OFF PRIOR TO DEPLOYING PARACHUTE. (.19) ON SEPTEMBER 22, 2002, AT APPROXIMATELY 1530 MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME, A SABIAN RAN S12-XL HOMEBUILT, N725ST, WAS DESTROYED FOLLOWING IMPACT WITH TERRAIN WHILE MANEUVERING NEAR MEXICAN HAT, UTAH. THE PRIVATE PILOT AND HIS PRIVATE PILOT RATED PASSENGER WERE BOTH FATALLY INJURED. THE AIRPLANE WAS BEING OPERATED BY THE PILOT UNDER TITLE 14 CFR PART 91. VISUAL METEOROLOGIC                                                       AL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE CROSS-COUNTRY PERSONAL FLIGHT THAT ORIGINATED FROM BLANDING, UTAH, APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR 25 MINUTES BEFORE THE ACCIDENT. NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED. WITNESSES OBSERVED THE AIRPLANE FLYING UP A SMALL CANYON AND MAKE A "TIGHT" U-TURN. THEY SAID THAT A PARACHUTE WAS DEPLOYED FROM THE AIRPLANE, AND IT FELL TO THE GROUND. THE POSTIMPACT FIRE CONSUMED THE AIRCRAFT.

## 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 DEN02LA109](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN02LA109), Sep 22, 2002: Sabian Rans S-12XL (N725ST), Mexican Hat, UT, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: the pilot's inadequate in-flight planning and decision making (flying up a canyon with insufficient altitude) which resulted in an inadvertent stall/mush, and the pilot's failure to follow the proper…

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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