- Date
- May 19, 2003, 17:50 local (May 20, 2003, 00:50 UTC)
- Place
- Jean, NV
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- UNREGSabre Trike 330
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 28, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- Case key
- 57050
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
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Probable cause
The pilot's excessive taxi speed, which resulted in an inadvertent liftoff at an inadequate airspeed and a subsequent stall. A factor was the pilot's lack of experience in the airplane.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot stalled the airplane and impacted the ground during an inadvertent takeoff. The vehicle exceeded the maximum limits to be classified as an ultralight under 14 CFR 103. The owner was selling the airplane to the pilot. The owner demonstrated how it was assembled, and then demonstrated the airplane in flight. The pilot/buyer then put on his helmet and sat in the airplane. Two of his friends, and the owner, advised the pilot not to takeoff, to "just taxi." The pilot said he was not going to fly. While the pilot/buyer was taxiing, the airplane's speed increased. The airplane "went up" about 100 feet and then "[was] going straight to the ground." The airplane began to "come out of it" and the owner turned away. Shortly thereafter, the aircraft impacted the ground. One of the pilot's friends witnessed the accident. He reported the airplane "went up too fast, stalling, losing control, then smashing to the ground."
Factual narrative
On May 19, 2003, about 1750 Pacific daylight time, an unregistered Sabre Trike 330 airplane stalled during an inadvertent takeoff near Jean, Nevada. The pilot, who did not hold a pilot certificate, was operating the borrowed airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The pilot, the sole occupant, received fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed.
The owner reported in a written statement that he was selling the airplane to the pilot. He demonstrated how it was assembled, and then demonstrated the airplane in flight. The pilot/buyer then put on his helmet and sat in the airplane. Two of his friends, and the owner, advised the pilot not to takeoff, to "just taxi." The pilot said he was not going to fly. While the pilot/buyer was taxiing, the airplane's speed increased. The airplane "went up" about 100 feet and then "[was] going straight to the ground." The airplane began to "come out of it" and the owner turned away. Shortly thereafter, the airplane impacted the ground.
One of the pilot's friends witnessed the accident. He reported the airplane "went up too fast, stalling, losing control, then smashing to the ground."
The owner was not aware that the airplane did not comply with the requirements of Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) 103, which specifies the requirements an aircraft must meet in order to operate as an ultralight vehicle.
Aircraft
- Registration
- UNREG
- Reported as
- Sabre Trike 330
- Category
- Airplane
- Engine
- Kawasaki TB340A-202, 32 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Morgan Dillard
- Departed
- OL7 · Jean, NV
- Destination
- 0L7 · Jean, NV
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Injuries
- Fatal
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 0 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 50° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 27 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.92 inHg
- Observed at
- LAS, 20 nm away
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 9, 2004, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 521 KB in all.