# Accident 20130729015239A: Folland Aircraft Co Ltd GNAT T 1, Georgetown, SC, July 29, 2013

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 29, 2013, 13:20 local time
- Place: Georgetown, SC
- Airport: Georgetown County
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Maneuver
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 33.2994° N, 79.3386° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.2994&lon=-79.3386&mi=10
- Aircraft: N18GT, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N18GT-2018-01-11) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Folland GNAT T 1 (registry code 3570100, https://openairdocs.org/model/folland-gnat-t-1) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Rolls-Royce ORPHEOUS (registry code 54563, https://openairdocs.org/engine/rolls-royce-orpheous) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: FOLLAND AIRCRAFT CO LTD GNAT T 1
- Reported engine: ROLLS-ROYC ORPHEOUS
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Airline transport
- Pilot flight hours: 4,506 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA13FA340](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA13FA340) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20130729015239A

## Narrative

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

ON JULY 29, 2013, ABOUT 1320 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME, A FOLLAND GNAT T1, AIRPLANE, N18GT, COLLIDED WITH TERRAIN DURING AN UNCONTROLLED DESCENT NEAR THE GEORGETOWN COUNTY AIRPORT (GGE), GEORGETOWN, SOUTH CAROLINA. THE PILOT WAS FATALLY INJURED, AND THE AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED. THE AIRPLANE WAS REGISTERED TO FOOGAIR INC, AND OPERATED BY THE AIRLINE TRANSPORT PILOT AS A PERSONAL FLIGHT UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 91. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND AN INSTRUMENT FLIGHT RULES FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE FLIGHT THAT DEPARTED YEAGER AIRPORT (CRW), CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIA, DESTINED FOR GGE.

ACCORDING TO WITNESSES THE PILOT RADIOED PERSONNEL AT THE AIRPORT ON APPROACH AND THEY WENT OUTSIDE TO SEE HIM LAND. THE PILOT CROSSED OVER THE MIDFIELD AND ENTERED A RIGHT DOWNWIND FOR RUNWAY 23. THE AIRPLANE MADE A HIGH SPEED FLYBY OVER THE RUNWAY BETWEEN 100-200 FEET AGL. AT THE END OF THE RUNWAY THE AIRPLANE PITCHED UP APPROXIMATELY 30 DEGREES AND BEGAN AN AILERON ROLL TO THE LEFT. THE FIRST 180 DEGREES OF THE AILERON ROLL WAS UNEVENTFUL ACCORDING TO THE WITNESSES, BUT WHEN THE AIRPLANE REACHED ABOUT THE 190 DEGREE POINT IT ABRUPTLY PITCHED DOWN AND TO THE RIGHT. THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH THE GROUND AND AN EXPLOSION WAS HEARD FOLLOWED BY A PLUME OF SMOKE. NO DISTRESS CALLS WERE HEARD ON THE RADIO FROM THE PILOT PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT.

THE WRECKAGE WAS LOCATED IN A HEAVILY WOODED AREA ONE MILE SOUTHWEST OF GGE. THE AIRPLANE WAS EXAMINED ON SCENE AND ALL MAJOR COMPONENTS OF THE AIRPLANE WERE ACCOUNTED FOR AT THE ACCIDENT SITE. A DEBRIS PATH REVEALED FRESHLY BROKEN TREE BRANCHES AT AN APPROXIMATE 45-DEGREE ANGLE. THE DEBRIS PATH WAS ON A 309-DEGREE MAGNETIC HEADING, AND EXTENDED APPROXIMATELY 300 FEET. VARIOUS FRAGMENTS OF THE AIRPLANE WERE LOCATED ALONG THE DEBRIS PATH. THE ENGINE, FUSELAGE AND THE SECTIONS OF THE WINGS AND COCKPIT WERE LOCATED AT THE END OF THE DEBRIS PATH AND HAD BEEN CONSUMED BY A POSTCRASH FIRE. FLIGHT CONTROL CONTINUITY TO THE FLIGHT CONTROLS WAS NOT CONFIRMED DUE TO THE FRAGMENTATION OF THE FLIGHT CONTROL AND THE HYDRAULIC SYSTEMS.

## 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 ERA13FA340](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA13FA340), Jul 29, 2013: Folland Gnat T 1 (N18GT), Georgetown, SC, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The loss of airplane control for reasons that could not be determined due to postcrash fire damage. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s decision to perform an aerobatic maneuver at low…

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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