# Accident 20080406837729A: Mrchti SF260, Belfast, ME, April 6, 2008

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 6, 2008, 17:55 local time
- Place: Belfast, ME
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Descent
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 44.3964° N, 68.9619° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=44.3964&lon=-68.9619&mi=10
- Aircraft: N601RH, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N601RH-2008-07-03) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Siai-Marchetti SF260 (registry code 8121208, https://openairdocs.org/model/siai-marchetti-sf260) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: MRCHTI SF260
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 3,735 total, 129 in this make and model, 6 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC08FA155](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC08FA155) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20080406837729A

## Narrative

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

(-23) RADAR DATA INDICATES THE AIRCRAFT DEPARTED AND MADE A RIGHT TURN OUT. MODE C INFORMATION INDICATES IT CLIMBED TO 1600 FT., THEN SUDDENLY CLIMBED TO 1900 FT., THEN DISAPPEARED FROM RADAR. EYE WITNESSES REPORTED THE PILOT PERFORMED A ROLL. IT APPEARS HE MAY HAVE PULLED UP ABRUPTLY, THEN ENDED UP NOSE LOW AND CRASHED INTO BELFAST HARBOR UNDER APPROXIMATELY 60 FEET OF WATER. ONE MAIN WHEEL AND THE NOSE GEAR ASSEMBLY, ALONG WITH OTHER ITEMS SUCH AS SEAT BACKS, INSULATION, A SIDE INTERIOR PANEL, AND SO FORTH FLOATED TO THE SURFACE. DAMAGE REPORTED TO THE AIRCRAFT BY DIVERS WHO RECOVERED THE PILOT'S REMAINS REPORTED VER HEAVY DAMAGE TO THE AIRCRAFT. THE FIRST BOAT ON THE SCENE REPORTED PAINT IN THE WATER WAS EXTEREMELY FINE, WITH NO LARGE FLAKES. THESE OBSERVATIONS WOULD INDICATE THE AIRCRAFT HIT AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED. THE AIRCRAFT IS STILL SUBMERGED.

## 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 NYC08FA155](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC08FA155), Apr 6, 2008: SIAI-Marchetti SF-260 (N601RH), Belfast, ME, substantial damage, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane due to spatial disorientation during an aerobatic maneuver.

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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