- Date
- April 18, 2009, 12:44 local (16:44 UTC)
- Place
- Church Hill, TN
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N582EFMartin Edward H Fire Star II
- Defining event
- Approach-VFR pattern final: Loss of control in flight
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 28, 2009
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20090418006419A
- Case key
- 73695
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 adequate airspeed to avoid an aerodynamic stall during final approach.
Findings · 2
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
During final approach to a turf runway, the pilot of the amateur-built airplane noted that he was too high and the airspeed was 60 to 65 mph. He reduced engine power to descend, and was then distracted while viewing wildlife in a field below him. When the pilot looked back at the airspeed indicator, it displayed 40 mph. The airplane then "stalled" and the pilot felt the left wing drop. The airplane subsequently struck a fence and the nose impacted the ground. The airplane flipped over and came to rest short of the runway. The pilot sustained serious injuries and the airplane was substantially damaged. A witness familiar with the accident airplane reported that its stall speed was in the "mid-30s." A weather observation taken 10 minutes after the accident, at an airport 14 nautical miles away, reported calm winds; however, the pilot recalled wind gusting from his left and from behind after impact. A witness recalled that it was sunny with thermal updrafts and downdrafts. The pilot had over 177 hours of flight experience in the accident airplane.
Factual narrative
During final approach to a turf runway, the pilot of the amateur-built airplane noted that he was too high and the airspeed was 60 to 65 mph. He reduced engine power to descend, and was then distracted while viewing wildlife in a field below him. When the pilot looked back at the airspeed indicator, it displayed 40 mph. The airplane then "stalled" and the pilot felt the left wing drop. The airplane subsequently struck a fence and the nose impacted the ground. The airplane flipped over and came to rest short of the runway. The pilot sustained serious injuries and the airplane was substantially damaged. A witness familiar with the accident airplane reported that its stall speed was in the "mid-30s." A weather observation taken 10 minutes after the accident, at an airport 14 nautical miles away, reported calm winds; however, the pilot recalled wind gusting from his left and from behind after impact. A witness recalled that it was sunny with thermal updrafts and downdrafts. The pilot had over 177 hours of flight experience in the accident airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N582EF
- Reported as
- Martin Edward H Fire Star II
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- EHM-1
- Engine
- Rotax, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- RVN · Rogersville, TN
- Destination
- 77TN · Church Hill, TN
- Airport
- 77TN · Darnell's Field, runway 35, 1,500 × 25 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
- 69
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Flight hours
- 1,909 total · 177 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 41 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.22 inHg
- Observed at
- TRI, 14 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.