# NTSB ERA26LA211: Patsch Thorp T-18, N2KP, Hendersonville, NC, May 15, 2026

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 3 · Limited · Preliminary report
- Date: May 15, 2026, 18:53 local (22:53 UTC)
- Place: Hendersonville, NC · Impacted trees on takeoff on east side of the runway.
- Coordinates: 35.307083, -82.431447 (estimated)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.3071&lon=-82.4314&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Initial climb](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/350) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Defining event: [Initial climb: Abrupt maneuver](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/270)
- Highest injury: No injuries
- Injuries: 1 uninjured
- Status: Investigation ongoing
- Investigation class: Class 3
- NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties: FAA/FSDO
- NTSB case key (mKey): 203034
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA26LA211
- NTSB preliminary report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/203034/pdf
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA26LA211

## Preliminary report

On May 15, 2026, about 1853 eastern daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Thorp T-18, N2KP, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Hendersonville, North Carolina. The commercial pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14?Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot stated that after landing at Hendersonville Airport (0A7), Henderson, North Carolina, he secured the airplane and went inside the fixed base operator, then returned to the airplane to continue his trip to a coastal city within North Carolina. While there, he did not obtain any fuel and stated that he had an estimated 12 to 14 gallons of fuel onboard. Prior to departure he described his preflight inspection as “lackadaisical,” but he did check the pitch trim and ailerons, and thought that the pitch trim was in the correct location for takeoff. He taxied to the runway, applied throttle, and as the airplane accelerated it, “sprung into the air” then pitched up climbing to between 50 and 100 ft. A pilot-rated witness at 0A7 reported seeing the nose of the airplane in a very high attitude, nearly vertical. The pilot further stated that he pushed forward on the control stick and did not touch the pitch trim system, but the nose would, “not come down.” The airplane then descended and impacted trees on the east side of the runway. Postaccident examination of the airplane’s pitch trim system revealed the wheel was rotated clockwise in a nose-down direction. The elevator trim jack assembly was inspected and the number of threads out the aft portion was documented in photographs. Using an exemplar airplane and the as-found position of the elevator trim jack assembly position, the anti-servo tab was full deflected in the airplane nose-down direction.

## Sequence of events

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

- [Initial climb: Abrupt maneuver](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/270) (defining event); cases with it: [Patsch-Kenneth THORP T-18, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/270/sequence.md?model=89510D2), [All aircraft, 346 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/270/sequence.md)
- [Initial climb: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240); cases with it: [Patsch-Kenneth THORP T-18, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md?model=89510D2), [All aircraft, 5,002 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md)
- [Uncontrolled descent: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Patsch-Kenneth THORP T-18, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=89510D2), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md)

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N2KP](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N2KP), registered now, S/N 1042-2, built 1980 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PATSCH Thorp T-18 (NO SERIES)
- Registry model: [Patsch-Kenneth THORP T-18](https://openairdocs.org/model/patsch-kenneth-thorp-t-18) (registry code 89510D2) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (registry code 41508, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number: 1042-2
- Year built: 1980
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Flight: Personal, Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special)
- Airport: 0A7, Hendersonville, runway 15, 3,075 × 40 ft, asphalt

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day
- Wind: 200° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling: none
- Temperature: 72 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter: 30.07 inHg
- Observed at: KAVL, 9 nm away
- METAR: METAR KAVL 152254Z 20007KT 10SM CLR 22/07 A3007 RMK AO2 SLP172 T02220067

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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