- Date
- May 13, 2023, 15:42 local (20:42 UTC)
- Place
- Gardner, KS · Partially on grass and partially on asphalt taxiway at the airport
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N8932LRans S7
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Loss of control in flight
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA Kansas City FSDO
- FAA report
- 20230513016799A
- Case key
- 174534
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 exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack during the takeoff, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and loss of airplane control at too low of an altitude to recover.
Findings · 4
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot was in the front seat and a passenger, who is a flight instructor, was in the rear seat. Due to his injuries, the pilot was unable to recall what happened during the accident sequence. The passenger reported that during the takeoff, the airplane began to drift to the right. The airplane came near another airplane that was on the grass and the pilot “pitched up” to avoid the other airplane. The airplane exceeded its critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and loss of airplane control at an altitude too low to allow for recovery. The passenger estimated the aerodynamic stall occurred at 50 ft agl. The airplane impacted terrain, came to rest upright, and a postimpact fire ensued. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and both wings. The passenger reported that the engine was producing full power until the time of impact, and he did not hear any abnormal engine noises during the accident flight. A postaccident examination confirmed flight control continuity for the airframe.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8932L
- Reported as
- Rans S7 (S)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 0318630
- Built
- 2022
- Engine
- Rotax Aircraft Engines 912iS, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Airport
- K34 · Gardner Muni, runway 26, 2,399 × 36 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Unknown
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
- Pilot
- Age
- 61
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- BasicMed, Unknown
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 0 total · 0 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 250° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- KIXD, 3 nm away
- METAR
- KIXD 131953Z 25008KT 10SM CLR 29/16 A3000 RMK AO2 SLP148 T02890161
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 27, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 9.5 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.