20230413003249A

Accident · Destroyed

FAA accident report · Edwin Stafford JR ACE · Mammoth Springs, AR · April 13, 2023

Date: April 13, 2023 · 13:38 local
Place: Mammoth Springs, AR
Phase of flight: Maneuver
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Destroyed
Aircraft: N5545
NTSB investigation: NTSBCEN23FA155
Reported as: Edwin Stafford JR ACE
Reported engine: Lycoming 0-235 series
People aboard: 1
Fatal injuries: 1
Other injuries: 0
Pilot’s certificate: Private pilot

N5545Registered now · Edwin Stafford JR ACES/N 7792 · Built 2015 Airframe modelEdwin Stafford JR ACE Engine modelLycoming 0-235 series4 cycle

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

Aircraft departed a private air strip at approximately 1300 CST, and at approximately 1330 CST, the aircraft was observed flying into an abandoned rock quarry multiple times. When the aircraft failed to emerge following the last pass, multiple witnesses entered the quarry and discovered the aircraft had struck the face of a 45-foot tall cliff face, approximately 10 feet from the top; the aircraft was destroyed, and pilot was deceased.

As the FAA filed it

AIRCRAFT DEPARTED A PRIVATE AIR STRIP AT APPROXIMATELY 1300 CST, AND AT APPROXIMATELY 1330 CST, THE AIRCRAFT WAS OBSERVED FLYING INTO AN ABANDONED ROCK QUARRY MULTIPLE TIMES. WHEN THE AIRCRAFT FAILED TO EMERGE FOLLOWING THE LAST PASS, MULTIPLE WITNESSES ENTERED THE QUARRY AND DISCOVERED THE AIRCRAFT HAD STRUCK THE FACE OF A 45-FOOT TALL CLIFF FACE, APPROXIMATELY 10 FEET FROM THE TOP; THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED, AND PILOT WAS DECEASED.

NTSB investigation

The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.

NTSB CEN23FA155Accident · 1 fatalClass 3 · FieldFinal reportMammoth Springs, ARThe pilot’s intentional flight into terrain as an act of suicide.Apr 13, 2023 · Substantial damage