# Accident 20200405000889A: Schlitter Randy RANS S-12 AIRAILE, Hillrose, CO, April 5, 2020

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 5, 2020, 10:40 local time
- Place: Hillrose, CO
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 40.3245° N, 103.5222° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Hillrose, CO, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.3245&lon=-103.5222&mi=10
- Aircraft: N4114G (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: SCHLITTER RANDY RANS S-12 AIRAILE
- Reported engine: BOMBARDIER ROTAX (ALL)
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 2
- Pilot certificates: Student
- Pilot flight hours: 680 total, 135 in this make and model, 12 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20200405000889A

## Narrative

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

ACCORDING TO A WITNESS WHO WAS DIRECTLY UNDER A SERIES OF POWERLINES, N4114G WAS OBSERVED ?DROPPING DOWN? OVER TWO LARGE TREES, AND FLYING EAST-TO-WEST IN LEVEL-FLIGHT ATTITUDE TOWARD HIM AT ABOUT 30-35 FEET AGL.  THIS DEFINED A VERY LOW, STRAIGHT RUN OF AT LEAST 2000? FROM THE TREES ACROSS A FLAT, PLOWED FIELD  TO THE ONLY OBSTRUCTION, THE POWER LINE. THE ENGINE WAS RUNNING NORMALLY PRIOR TO THE WIRE STRIKE. THE PLANE LOOKED ?TOO LOW? TO BE ABLE TO CLIMB OVER THE POWER LINES. AS THE AIRCRAFT APPROACHED HIM, THE WITNESS STARTED POINTING UP TO THE LINES OVER HIS HEAD, USING LARGE GESTURES THAT MAY HAVE BEEN MISINTERPRETED AS  WAVING.  HE EXPRESSED CONCERN THAT THIS, PLUS THE BURNING PATCH OF WEEDS HE WAS TENDING, WERE ENOUGH OF A DISTRACTION THAT THE PERSON FLYING BECAME FIXATED ON HIM, LOST SITUATIONAL AWARENESS OF THE WIRES, AND STRUCK THEM, RESULTING IN THE NON-FATAL IMPACT WITH THE GROUND AND THE INJURIES TO THE PERSON FLYING AND TO THE SINGLE PASSENGER.

## NTSB investigation

None matched to this report by aircraft and date. Search the NTSB's own records: https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-main-public/basic-search

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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