- Date
- August 31, 2022, 10:35 local (14:35 UTC)
- Place
- Hilliard, FL
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N8028WSutphin John E Rans S-12
- Defining event
- Approach-VFR pattern base: Aerodynamic stall/spin
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20220831015639A
- Case key
- 105839
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 an adequate airspeed, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.
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 student pilot stated that he was practicing touch-and-go landings in the accident airplane. While approaching the runway at an altitude of about 400 feet, and while in the turn from the base to the final leg of the traffic pattern, the pilot described that he allowed the airspeed to get too slow and the airplane entered an aerodynamic stall. The airplane subsequently impacted trees and terrain, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage and wings. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8028W
- Reported as
- Sutphin John E Rans S-12
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 0894513
- Built
- 1995
- Airframe hours
- 120
- Engine
- Rotax 582, 65 hp, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental light sport (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · October 1, 2021 · 45 hours before
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- 01J · Hilliard Airpark, runway 18, 3,600 × 125 ft, grass/turf
- Equipment
- ADS-B
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
- Student pilot
- Age
- 69
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Student
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 18 total · 14 in this make and model · 18 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 260° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 79 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.99 inHg
- Observed at
- KJAX, 16 nm away
- METAR
- KJAX 311456Z 26003KT 10SM SCT021 BKN250 31/26 A2999 RMK AO2 SLP154 T03060256 53006
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 27, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.0 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.
Other investigations on N8028W · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.