- Date
- April 15, 2017, 15:25 local (19:25 UTC)
- Place
- Oliver Springs, TN
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N122BDZeiler Bakeng Duce 1976 CZ
- Defining event
- Landing: Loss of control in flight
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 20, 2017
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20170415008459A
- Case key
- 95017
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 unstabilized approach and failure to go around, which resulted in impact with trees.
Findings · 4
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 reported that, during approach, while flying from the rear seat of the tandem-seat, high-wing airplane, he "needed to lose speed and altitude." He placed the airplane in a right-wing-low, forward slip, and he added that the airplane had poor forward visibility at slower speeds. He aligned the airplane with the center of the runway and "pulled the nose up slightly to slow [down]," and a "wind gust" came from the right and "pushed" the airplane over the trees. He "saw [the] tree tops coming up fast under [his] left wing," and "out of shear instinct, [he] banked slightly right to avoid going in nose first." The airplane collided with the tree tops. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings and the empennage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The automated weather observation system about 3 nautical miles from the accident site, about the time of the accident, reported that the wind was variable at 3 knots. The pilot landed to the southwest.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that during approach, while flying from the rear seat of the tandem seat, high-wing airplane, he "needed to lose speed and altitude". He placed the airplane in a right-wing low, forward slip, and he added that the airplane had poor forward visibility at slower speeds. He aligned the airplane with the center of the runway and "pulled the nose up slightly to slow [down]," and a "wind gust" came from the right and "pushed" the airplane over the trees. He "saw [the] tree tops coming up fast under [his] left wing", and "out of shear instinct, [he] banked slightly right to avoid going in nose first". The airplane collided with the tree tops. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings and the empennage. The pilot reported that there were no pre-accident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The automated weather observation system about 3 nautical miles from the accident site, about the time of the accident, reported the wind variable at 3 knots. The pilot landed to the southwest.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N122BD
- Reported as
- Zeiler Bakeng Duce 1976 CZ (NO SERIES)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1776-CZ
- Built
- 1982
- Airframe hours
- 787.5
- Engine
- Lycoming O-290, 125 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · August 9, 2016
- Departed
- BYL · Williamsburg, KY
- Destination
- Oliver Springs, TN
- Equipment
- Handheld GPS
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
- 40
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- April 22, 2016
- Seat
- Rear
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 277 total · 27 in this make and model · 245 as pilot in command · 3 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 9,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.25 inHg
- Observed at
- KOQT, 3 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 30, 2017, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.5 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.