- Date
- December 1, 2001, 17:05 local (22:05 UTC)
- Place
- Linden, NC
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N366KRByrd KR-2S
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 4, 2002
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FSDO FAA
- FAA report
- 20011201031339A
- Case key
- 53857
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 failure to correct a condition where visual contact with the terrain was lost due to sunshine glare, resulting in collision with a tree during final approach for landing.
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
According to the pilot, upon his return to his home field, the wind favored using runway 22, but the sun was located in just the right spot to blind anyone flying in that direction. The pilot continued the approach although his visibility was severely restricted, and at about 100 feet from the runway, the left wing collided with a tree top and spun the aircraft to the ground. The pilot was not injured, but the aircraft was destroyed.
Factual narrative
On December 1, 2001, at about 1705 eastern standard time, an experimental Byrd KR-2S, N366KR, registered and operated by a private individual as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, crashed while on final approach for landing in the vicinity of Linden, North Carolina. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The aircraft was destroyed and the private-rated pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The flight departed Raleigh-Durham about 20 minutes before the accident.
According to the pilot, while on final approach to runway 22, the sun's rays hit his canopy at just the right angle to blind his vision. At about 100 feet before the runway, the left wing tip collided with a tree top and spun the aircraft to the terrain. The airplane collided with the terrain in a vertical, nose down attitude, resulting in the fuselage breaking up at about the instrument panel and the wing to separate.
According to an FAA inspector, the sun's obscuring of the pilot's vision prevented him from sensing that the aircraft was drifting left of runway centerline as he approached the threshold of runway 22. The left wing struck a tree, causing the aircraft to impact the terrain.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N366KR
- Reported as
- Byrd KR-2S
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 366
- Airframe hours
- 49
- Engine
- Subaru EA81-981, 98 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Melvin G.Byrd
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 24, 2001 · 11 hours before
- Departed
- 5W5 · Raleigh-Durham, NC
- Destination
- 9NC2 · Linden, NC
- Airport
- 9NC2 · Flyers Airstrip, runway 22, 2,800 × 60 ft, grass/turf
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
- 65
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- September 2, 2001
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,000 total · 49 in this make and model · 950 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 9 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.10 inHg
- Observed at
- FAY, 14 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.