# NTSB CEN25FA014: Rans S12, N912RS, Church Point, LA, October 15, 2024

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · Fatal · Class 3 · Field · Preliminary report
- Date: October 15, 2024, 15:14 local (20:14 UTC)
- Place: Church Point, LA
- Coordinates: 30.417833, -92.243667 (estimated)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.4178&lon=-92.2437&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Approach](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/500) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Defining event: [Approach-VFR pattern base: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240)
- Highest injury: Fatal
- Injuries: 1 fatal
- Status: Investigation ongoing
- Investigation class: Class 3
- NTSB office: Central Region
- Parties: Federal Aviation Administration, Baton Rouge FSDO
- NTSB case key (mKey): 195321
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN25FA014
- NTSB preliminary report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/195321/pdf
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN25FA014

## Preliminary report

On October 15, 2024, at 1514 central daylight time, a Rans S12S, N912RS, was involved in an accident near Church Point, Louisiana. The airline transport pilot sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was destroyed. The airplane was operated under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations as a Part 91 maintenance test flight. The airplane had not flown for about three years before it was purchased by the current owner whose intent was to learn how to fly using the accident airplane. The airplane owner, the pilot, and two other individuals performed maintenance on the airplane during the previous two months in preparation for the test flight that was flown by the pilot. During the test flight, the pilot performed maneuvers that included aerodynamic stalls, steep turns, and glide ratios. The pilot reported via radio that there were no issues with the airplane, and it was outstanding in its flying. The pilot then reported that he was returning to the departure airstrip. The airplane entered a downwind landing followed by a base leg for landing. During the turn from the base leg to the final leg of the approach, the airplane snapped over and entered an aerodynamic spin. The airplane descended while spinning and the engine sound increased and then decreased, which was consistent with an application followed by a reduction of engine power. The airplane impacted a field and was destroyed by impact forces. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no mechanical malfunction/failure that would have precluded normal airplane operation. The airplane was not equipped nor was it required to be equipped with a stall warning system due its experimental categorization.

## Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened.

- [Approach-VFR pattern base: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240) (defining event); cases with it: [All aircraft, 5,002 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md)
- [Approach-VFR pattern base: Aerodynamic stall/spin](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241); cases with it: [All aircraft, 1,529 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241/sequence.md)
- [Uncontrolled descent: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md)

## Aircraft

- Registration: N912RS (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: RANS S12 (S)
- Category: Airplane
- Serial number: 06000922
- Year built: 2010
- Damage: Destroyed
- Flight: Flight test, Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special)
- Destination: Same as departure
- Airport: Private, runway 04, grass/turf

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day
- Wind: 20° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling: none
- Temperature: 86 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter: 29.95 inHg
- Observed at: OPL, 10 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 (OpenAirDocs).

- [Accident 20241015016919A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20241015016919A), Oct 15, 2024: Smith Michael J RANS S12S, Church Point, LA, Destroyed, 1 fatal. On October 15 at 15:14 CDT the pilot of an amateur built aircraft lost control of the aircraft and entered a stall/spin during final approach to a private…

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

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