- Date
- May 30, 2001, 15:45 local (19:45 UTC)
- Place
- Swainsboro, GA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N448CHRussell Heyn Rans S-6
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 9, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20010530011669A
- Case key
- 52385
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 failure of the pilot to properly compensate for a crosswind and for gusty conditions during takeoff/initial climb, which resulted in an inflight loss of control and collision with the ground.
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 stated that he was departing from a private grass strip, with a right quartering headwind of about 10 to 12 mph, and as he lifted off and started to climb, while at a height of about 60 feet, a strong wind gust got under the right wing and forced the aircraft hard to the left and the nose down. According to the pilot, the aircraft then collided with the ground, and was destroyed as a result of the impact. The pilot further stated that prior to the accident, there had been no mechanical failure or malfunction to the aircraft, or any of its systems.
Factual narrative
On May 30, 2001, about 1545 eastern daylight time, a Russell Heyn Rans S-6, N448CH, registered to, and operated by a private owner, as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, crashed during takeoff/initial climb in Swainsboro, Georgia. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The private-rated pilot, the sole occupant of the aircraft, was not injured, and the aircraft was destroyed. The flight was originating at the time of the accident.
The pilot stated that he was departing from a private grass strip, with a right quartering headwind of about 10 to 12 mph, and as he lifted off and started to climb, while at a height of about 60 feet, a strong wind gust got under the right wing and forced the aircraft hard to the left and the nose down. According to the pilot, the aircraft then collided with the ground, and was destroyed as a result of the impact. The pilot further stated that prior to the accident, there had been no mechanical failure or malfunction to the aircraft, or any of its systems.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N448CH
- Reported as
- Russell Heyn Rans S-6
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 03991308
- Airframe hours
- 153
- Engine
- Rotax 912S, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Russell Heyn
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 13, 2001 · 3.2 hours before
- Departed
- SBO · Swainsboro, GA
- Airport
- Bill Mixon's grass strip
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
- 53
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- April 2, 2001
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 192 total · 122 in this make and model · 19 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.01 inHg
- Observed at
- VDI, 25 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.