# NTSB LAX08LA181: Airborne Edge, N9393S, Dunn, NC, June 14, 2008 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: June 14, 2008, 06:30 local (10:30 UTC) - Place: Dunn, NC - Coordinates: 35.273612, -78.445831 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.2736&lon=-78.4458&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Approach](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/500) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Approach-VFR go-around: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 1 fatal - Status: Completed, report April 15, 2009 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 68227 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX08LA181 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/68227/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX08LA181 ## Probable cause The student pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane during a go-around. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Student/instructed pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Airborne EDGE, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md?model=05901BK), [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md) - [Performance/control parameters](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062000): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [Airborne EDGE, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062000/cases.md?model=05901BK), [All aircraft, 1,269 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062000/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Approach-VFR go-around: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240) (defining event); cases with it: [Airborne EDGE, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md?model=05901BK), [All aircraft, 5,002 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md) - [Approach-VFR go-around: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Airborne EDGE, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=05901BK), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis During the student pilot's first supervised solo flight in a weight-shift-control airplane, the pilot departed a private field and remained within the traffic pattern. Witnesses reported that the airplane appeared to be on a stable approach for landing. Just before touchdown, the pilot applied full throttle to initiate a go-around and the airplane immediately turned to the left. Subsequently, the left wing struck the ground and the airplane began to cartwheel. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no anomalies with the airframe or flight control system. The student pilot's instructor reported that the 2-cycle engine installed in the airplane produced left-hand torque with a subsequent tendency of the airplane to turn left. He added that the student pilot had been instructed on compensation techniques for the left torque and turning tendencies prior to his solo flight. Witnesses reported that the weather at the time of the accident was clear sky and calm wind. ## Factual narrative On June 14, 2008, approximately 0630 eastern daylight time, an Airborne Edge (Experimental Light Sport A) weight-shift control airplane, N9393S, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain during a go-around at a private field near Dunn, North Carolina. The student pilot, the sole occupant of the airplane, was killed. The airplane was registered to, and operated by, the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the supervised solo flight. The local flight originated from the private field about 5 minutes prior to the accident. In a written statement, the flight instructor who was supervising the student pilot's first solo flight reported that the pilot departed and remained within the traffic pattern with no apparent difficulties. The pilot appeared to conduct a stable approach to landing. The instructor stated just before the airplane was going to touch down, the pilot applied full power to initiate a go-around and the airplane began to turn to the left. Subsequently, the left wing struck the ground and the airplane cartwheeled before coming to rest. The pilot was extracted from the wreckage and transported to a local hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed that all components of the airplane exhibited impact related damage. No anomalies were observed with the airplane's flight control system. The student pilot's flight instructor reported that prior to the accident, the pilot had received about 16 hours of flight training in weight-shift control airplanes, and had accumulated about 85 hours of flight time in powered parachutes. The flight instructor stated that the airplane was equipped with a two-cycle engine, which produced left-hand torque and turning tendencies. He added that the student pilot had been instructed on compensation techniques for the left torque and turning tendencies prior to his solo flight. Witnesses reported that the weather at the time of the accident was clear sky and calm wind. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, conducted an autopsy on the pilot on June 15, 2008. The medical examiner determined that the cause of death was "Blunt force trauma." The FAA's Civil Aeromedical Institute (CAMI) in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, performed toxicology tests on the pilot. According to CAMI's report, carbon monoxide, cyanide, volatiles, and drugs were tested with positive results for 12 (mg/dl, mg/hg) of Ethanol in the blood, 16 (mg/dl, mg/hg) of Ethanol in the liver, 2 (mg/dL, mg/hg) N-Propanol in the liver and 8 (mg/dL, mg/hg) N-Propanol in the blood. It was also reported that no ethanol was detected in the Vitreous and that the ethanol "found in this case is [was] from sources other than ingestion." The test was also positive for unspecified amounts of Atropine and Etomidate within the blood and liver. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N9393S](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N9393S-2012-01-25), registration cancelled 2012-01-25, S/N 503302, built 2007 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Airborne Edge - Registry model: [Airborne EDGE](https://openairdocs.org/model/airborne-edge) (registry code 05901BK) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Rotax 503 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/rotax-503-series) (registry code 55564, 2 cycle) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 503302 - Airframe hours: 262 - Engines: Rotax 503 50 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Operator: Charles R. Zeigra - Registered owner: Charles R. Zeigra - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental light sport (Special) - Departed: PRIV, Dunn, NC - Destination: PRIV, Dunn, NC - Airport: Private, runway 36, 1,800 × 100 ft, grass/turf ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 59; injuries: fatal; student; seat: front; toxicology performed; flight hours: 101 total, 16 in this make and model, 85 as pilot in command, 4 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: calm - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 72 °F, dew point 70 °F - Altimeter: 30.10 inHg - Observed at: HRJ, 18 nm away ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20080614838679A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20080614838679A), Jun 14, 2008: Airbau EDGE, Dunn, NC, Destroyed, 1 fatal. (-23) According to the CFI, who was the principal witness, during the pilot's solo flight, just before touch down at landing, the pilot throttled up the two… 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.