# NTSB MIA02LA115: Bailey Dragon Fly, Trenton, GA, June 20, 2002 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: June 20, 2002, 19:00 local (23:00 UTC) - Place: Trenton, GA - Coordinates: 34.904724, -85.46611 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.9047&lon=-85.4661&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 2 fatal - Status: Completed, report August 26, 2003 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FAA - NTSB case key (mKey): 55048 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=MIA02LA115 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/55048/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=55048 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA02LA115 ## Probable cause the pilot-in-command's failure to maintain airspeed while maneuvering, which resulted in the airplane stalling, spinning, and impacting with the ground. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - in flight, maneuvering - airspeed(vs) - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - stall/spin - inadvertent, pilot in command - In flight collision with terrain/water, descent - uncontrolled - terrain condition - ground ## Analysis According to witnesses the ultralight was at an altitude of about 200 feet, when the witness observed the it in a nose high attitude turn, stall, and spin nose low before impact. The witness heard full power applied to the engine, the airplane disappeared behind trees, and then heard the sound of impact with the ground. ## Factual narrative On June 20, 2002, about 1900 eastern daylight time, a homebuilt Bailey Dragon Fly, unregistered, owned and operated by an individual, impacted with the ground while maneuvering near Trenton, Georgia. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight. The airplane was destroyed. The private-rated pilot and one passenger were fatally injured. The flight had originated from the Lookout Mountain Ultralight airstrip, at 1845. A witness, who was an ultralight certified instructor pilot said that he observed the ultralight as he looked towards the north end of the field, and noticed the it had initiated a left hand turn. He then noticed it was going into a second 360-degree turn, and it was starting to change its nose angle more into a "downward position." On the third 360-degree turn, it was "even steeper," and he said to someone, "...that position of the ultralight with 2 people was incredibly dangerous." It seemed as though they were into a "full spin" with the ultralight. The ultralight then went into its fourth turn, and the "nose dropped even further." The aircraft dropped down behind the trees, within a moment he heard the impact, and then saw a large ball of black smoke billow into the sky. According to the witness and the owner of the ultralight, spins were "not authorized," and all ultralight pilots were to adhere to this rule. In addition, the owner stated that the accident aircraft was equipped with a BRS rocket deployed emergency parachute system, that had not been deployed. Another witness, sitting in front of his house, near the crash site, had noticed the aircraft getting ready to take off with two people onboard. After takeoff the airplane flew in the area for a few minutes, then he saw it doing some "sharp turns clockwise," and it seemed to him to "be under 200 feet over the ground," at the northeast end of the field. After the second turn it disappeared behind the top of the trees, and was at an "even steeper angle of attack." Two seconds later he heard the "rpm of the engine going really high and a loud sound," then he saw black smoke over the trees. According to the FAA, the airplane had the proper FAA exemption as a trainer, however, for this flight the pilot was not a certified instructor, and the ultralight was not being used for training. For this flight the FAA determined that the ultralight was considered an un-registered aircraft. An autopsy was performed on the pilot, at the Division of Forensic Sciences, Georgia Bureau of Investigations, Atlanta, Georgia, on July 24, 2002. According to the autopsy report the cause of death was "...Blunt Forces Injuries." No findings, which could be considered causal to the accident, were reported. Toxicology tests were performed on the pilot, at the Division of Forensic Sciences, Georgia Bureau of Investigations, Atlanta, Georgia, on July 24, 2002. The tests showed negative for drugs and positive for alcohol. The autopsy and toxicology tests were conducted 4 days after the accident, and revealed that the pilot had "thermal injuries," and the alcohol results by Gas Chromatography were: " 0.131 grams per 100 mL." ## Aircraft - Registration: UNREG (not matched to a registry record) - Reported make and model: Bailey Dragon Fly - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Airframe hours: 600 - Engines: Rotax 582 80 hp reciprocating - Damage: Destroyed - Fire: On-Ground - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: David A. Benjamin - Registered owner: Lookout MTN Flight Park - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Departed: 0GE3, Trenton, GA - Destination: Trenton, GA - Airport: 0GE3, Lookout Mountain Ultralight, runway 24, 2,000 × 50 ft, grass/turf ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 53; injuries: fatal; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: front; toxicology performed; flight hours: 1,601 total ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 50° at 5 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 79 °F, dew point 72 °F - Altimeter: 30.00 inHg ## Docket (3 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 12, 2003, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=55048. 554 KB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 433 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40447711&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Master.PDF - Supplement S (item 2, .PDF, 28 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40183320&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Supplement%20S-Master.PDF - Reports from Local Agencies (item 3, .PDF, 94 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40447716&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Reports%20from%20Local%20Agencies-Master.PDF 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.