- Date
- March 28, 2004, 11:15 local (17:15 UTC)
- Place
- Lowndesboro, AL
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N910MBDantzer Lawrence L Rans S-12
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 29, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Birmingham FSDO
- FAA report
- 20040328005489A
- Case key
- 59047
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed while manuevering which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin. A factor was trees.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The homebuilt airplane collided with trees following a loss of control while maneuvering at 1000 feet. The pilot began a right turn and encountered a wind gust. The pilot stated that his airspeed was low and the airplane entered a stall and subsequently a spin. When efforts to regain control of the airplane failed, the pilot deployed the ballistic parachute system, and the airplane settled into a stand of trees. The pilot reported no mechanical problems with the airplane.
Factual narrative
On March 28, 2004, at 1115 central standard time, a Lawrence L Dantzer, Rans S-12 homebuilt airplane, N910MB, registered to and operated by the private pilot, collided with trees following a loss of control while maneuvering in Lowndesboro, Alabama. The flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91, and visual flight rules. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the local flight. The pilot received minor injuries and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight originated from a private grass strip in Lowndesboro, Alabama on March 28, 2004, at 1100.
The homebuilt airplane collided with trees following a loss of control while maneuvering at 1000 feet. The pilot began a right turn and encountered a wind gust. The pilot stated that his airspeed was low and the airplane entered a stall and subsequently a spin. When efforts to regain control of the airplane failed, the pilot deployed the ballistic parachute system, and the airplane settled into a stand of trees. The pilot reported no mechanical problems with the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N910MB
- Reported as
- Dantzer Lawrence L Rans S-12
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1090024
- Engine
- Rotax 582, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Dennis G. Lewis
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- PVT · Lowndesboro, AL
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 51
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 33 total · 5 in this make and model · 13 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 6,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.19 inHg
- Observed at
- MGM, 25 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.