- Date
- October 21, 2009, 12:30 local (17:30 UTC)
- Place
- Hernando, MS
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N24EAArgence Enas A. Christen Eagle
- Defining event
- Maneuvering: Loss of control in flight
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 7, 2011
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA Jackson FSDO
- Case key
- 74939
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 during a return to the airport, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and spin.
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
The pilot stated that the preflight inspection, engine start, taxi, run up, lift off and initial climb were normal. He further stated that after the initial climb, he has no memory of the circumstances surrounding the crash. Witnesses reported that shortly after takeoff there was a “loud bang or pop” from the airplane. The pilot attempted to return to the airport; however, the airplane started to spin and collided with the ground in a nose-down attitude and slid about 70 feet before coming to rest. Examination of the wreckage found no preexisting mechanical problems with the airframe or engine.
Factual narrative
On October 21, 2009, at 1230 central daylight time, an amateur-built Argence Enas A, Christen Eagle, N24EA, crashed off the end of runway 14, at the Hernando Village Airpark, Inc., (H75) Hernando, Mississippi. The certificated commercial pilot, who was also the owner of the airplane, incurred serious injuries, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight was operated as a personal flight under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91, and no flight plan was filed, for the local flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The pilot stated that the preflight inspection, engine start, taxi, run up, lift off and initial climb were normal. The pilot also stated that after the initial climb he has no memory of the circumstances surrounding the crash. Witnesses stated that shortly after takeoff there was a “loud bang or pop” from the airplane. The pilot attempted to return to the airport; however, the airplane started to spin and collided with the ground in a nose down attitude and slid about 70 feet before coming to rest. Examination of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector found the airplane in an open field with the upper wings partially separated from the airframe and the lower wings separated at the wing root. Examination of the wooden propeller found all three blades separated mid span and splintered. The inspector stated that he found no pre-existing mechanical problems with the airframe or engine following his examination.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N24EA
- Reported as
- Argence Enas A. Christen Eagle
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 0003
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-AID, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 16, 2009 · 6.2 hours before
- Departed
- H75 · Hernando, MS
- Destination
- H75 · Hernando, MS
- Airport
- H75 · Hernando Village Arpt, Inc, runway 14, 3,340 × 65 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
- 66
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- October 1, 2009
- Seat
- Single
- Flight hours
- 6,400 total · 250 in this make and model · 6,300 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 140° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.10 inHg
- Observed at
- MEM, 14 nm away
Docket · 6
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 29, 2010, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.9 MB in all.