- Date
- May 11, 2024, 14:21 local (19:21 UTC)
- Place
- Breaux Bridge, LA
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N122LFLanni Charles T Skyranger II
- 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
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20240511017429A
- Case key
- 194289
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 decision to depart with the airplane over maximum gross weight, which reduced the climb performance and resulted in a collision with a tree.
Findings · 3
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 and passenger planned to complete a local flight from a private grass strip. Before departure, the pilot told the passenger that they would need to fly under power lines, then they could climb to a higher altitude. After flying under the power lines, the airplane continued about 0.5 nm at a low altitude and the right wing struck a tree. The airplane impacted the ground and sustained substantial damage to the left wing and fuselage. Postaccident examination of the airplane did not reveal any mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Based on passenger weight and fueling information provided by the airstrip owner and friend of the pilot, the airplane was likely over its maximum gross weight, which resulted in a degraded climb performance.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N122LF
- Reported as
- Lanni Charles T Skyranger II
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- SKR0603698
- Built
- 2007
- Engine
- Jabiru 2200, 80 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Soignier Kenneth E
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Airport
- LS34 · Bordelon Airpark, runway 06/24, 2,985 × 80 ft, grass/turf
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
- 72
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Sport pilot, Unknown
- Seat
- Left
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.94 inHg
- Observed at
- KLFT, 9 nm away
- METAR
- KLFT 111953Z VRB04KT 10SM CLR 28/16 A2994 RMK AO2 SLP136 T02830156
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 25, 2024, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 5.5 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.