- Date
- January 5, 2023, 13:19 local (18:19 UTC)
- Place
- Calhoun, GA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N522EAStray Goose Research Aircam
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground
- 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
- 20230105011639A
- Case key
- 106545
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 inadvertent asymmetric throttle application, which resulted in a loss of directional control during the landing roll, runway excursion, and collision with ground equipment.
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 was performing touch-and-go landings, and during the landing roll, he removed his hand from the twin-engine airplane’s throttles to turn off the electrically-powered fuel pumps. As the pilot moved his hand, his sweater sleeve caught on the right throttle handle, the right engine power increased, and the airplane veered off the runway to the left. During the runway excursion, the airplane collided with a runway marker sign and visual approach lighting equipment, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage and empennage. The pilot attempted to reduce the right throttle setting, but his sweater was jammed between the throttles, and he ultimately stopped the airplane by shutting down the airplane’s engines. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N522EA
- Reported as
- Stray Goose Research Aircam
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- AC-251
- Built
- 2020
- Airframe hours
- 237.2
- Engines
- Rotax 912-ULS2, 100 horsepower, reciprocatingRotax 912-ULS2, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Stray Goose Research LLC
- Registered owner
- Stray Goose Research LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 20, 2022
- Airport
- CZL · Tom B David Fld, runway 35, 6,000 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Electronic primary flight display, ADS-B, Electronic multifunction display
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
- 82
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight engineer, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 11, 2021
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 36,000 total · 308 in this make and model · 30,000 as pilot in command · 24.5 in the last 90 days · 17.3 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 6 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 32 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.10 inHg
- Observed at
- RMG, 13 nm away
- METAR
- KRMG 051753Z AUTO 23006G15KT 10SM CLR 14/00 A3010 RMK AO2 SLP189 T01440000 10144 20028 58010
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 15, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 6.6 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.