# NTSB MIA08LA161: GT Ultralights Airborne Edge X, Franklin, ME, August 5, 2008 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: August 5, 2008, 19:25 local (23:25 UTC) - Place: Franklin, ME - Coordinates: 44.578334, -68.216667 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=44.5783&lon=-68.2167&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Low altitude operation/event](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/220) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 1 fatal, 1 serious - Status: Completed, report April 22, 2010 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FAA/FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 68622 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=MIA08LA161 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/68622/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=68622 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA08LA161 ## Probable cause The pilot's improper decision to perform low-altitude maneuvers and his failure to maintain clearance from the surface of the bay. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's impairment due to alcohol. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Info processing/decision: decision making/judgment](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 3,098 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md) - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md) - [Impairment/incapacitation: alcohol](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02012015): Personnel issues › Physical · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 87 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02012015/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Low altitude operation/event](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/220) (defining event); cases with it: [All aircraft, 780 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/220/sequence.md) ## Analysis Witnesses observed the non-certificated pilot with a passenger on board the unregistered, experimental light sport aircraft. The pilot of the weight-shift trike was performing a low-level maneuver above the bay when the trike made contact with the water and crashed. One witness, a friend of the pilot, reported that the pilot commonly performed the low-level maneuver as a greeting to the local residents in the area. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any evidence of a preimpact failure or malfunction with the trike and its systems. The postmortem toxicology testing revealed the pilot had a blood alcohol level of 159 mg/dl (0.159%). The pilot would have been substantially impaired and may have been alcohol dependent given his apparent tolerance to the sedative effects of alcohol. ## Factual narrative HISTORY On August 5, 2008, about 1925 eastern daylight time, an unregistered, experimental light sport aircraft (E-LSA), GT Ultralight, Airborne Edge X Trike, incurred substantial damage when it crashed into the waters of the Taunton Bay near Franklin, Maine. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The weight-shift trike was owned and operated by the pilot, under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a local personal flight. The pilot was killed and the passenger received serious injuries. The flight originated from a private airstrip earlier that day, at an unspecified time. A friend of the pilot, and witness to the accident, stated to a Maine State Police representative that the trike was observed flying over the bay, which was not uncommon. The pilot completed a circle, at the same time, the trike dipped toward the surface of the bay. The witness added that the maneuver was how the pilot would say “Hi” to the locals in the area. While performing the maneuver, a part of the trike made contact with the water and crashed. The witness added that the pilot often performed the same maneuver, which included banking low above the surface of the water. Witnesses rushed to the submerged trike and managed to rescue the trapped passenger and the pilot from the underwater wreckage; they both were in their seats with their respective seat belts attached. PERSONNEL INFORMATION The pilot, age 52, did not hold a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) pilot license or a medical certificate. The pilot’s flight logbook was not provided. AIRCRAFT INFORMATION The GT Ultralight, Airborne Edge X Trike was a two-place, weight-shifting controlled trike, powered by a Rotax 580, 65-horsepower engine. The trike was built to meet Australian Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) regulations, CAA 95.32. The trike's maintenance records were not provided. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION The nearest official weather reporting station was Bangor International Airport (BGR), Bangor, Maine, located 32 miles southeast of the accident site. The 1953 surface observation was: winds 60 degrees at 4 knots; visibility 10 statute miles; sky condition few at 4,500; temperature 20 degrees Celsius; dew point 12 degrees Celsius; altimeter 29.99 inches of mercury. WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION An examination of the wreckage was conducted by an FAA inspector. There was no evidence of a preimpact failure or malfunction with the trike and its systems. MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION A postmortem examination of the pilot was conducted under the authority of the Maine State Medical Examiner, Augusta, Maine, on August 7, 2008. The cause of death for the pilot was attributed to multiple blunt force injuries. The FAA Civil Aeromedical Institute (CAMI) conducted toxicology testing on specimens from the pilot. No carbon monoxide, cyanide, or drugs were detected; however, review of the report revealed: "159 (mg/dL, mg/hg) ETHANOL detected in Blood 159 (mg/dL, mg/hg) ETHANOL detected in Vitreous 174 (mg/dL, mg/hg) ETHANOL detected in Urine 129 (mg/dL, mg/hg) ETHANOL detected in Muscle" ## Aircraft - Registration: UNREG (not matched to a registry record) - Reported make and model: GT Ultralights Airborne Edge X - Category: Weight-shift - Serial number: 582-373 - Engines: Rotax 65 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Unknown - Departed: None, Franklin, ME - Destination: None, Franklin, ME ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 52; injuries: fatal; seat: front; toxicology performed ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 60° at 4 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 6,500 ft broken - Temperature: 68 °F, dew point 54 °F - Altimeter: 29.98 inHg - Observed at: BGR, 32 nm away ## Docket (11 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on February 5, 2010, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=68622. 3.9 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 11 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40324178&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Master.PDF - Reports from State Agencies: Excerpts From the Maine State Police Report. (item 2, .PDF, 727 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40324181&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Reports%20from%20State%20Agencies%3A%20Excerpts%20From%20the%20Maine%20State%20Police%20Report.-Redacted.PDF - Reports from Federal Agencies: Communication from the Federal Aviation Administration. (item 3, .PDF, 84 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40324182&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Reports%20from%20Federal%20Agencies%3A%20Communication%20from%20the%20Federal%20Aviation%20Administration.-Redacted.PDF - Miscellaneous: Aircraft Specification. (item 4, .PDF, 163 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40324184&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Miscellaneous%3A%20Aircraft%20Specification.-Master.PDF - Miscellaneous: Excerpt from the Australia Civil Aviation Order 95.32 . (item 5, .PDF, 482 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40324185&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Miscellaneous%3A%20Excerpt%20from%20the%20Australia%20Civil%20Aviation%20Order%2095.32%20.-Master.PDF - Toxicological Report (item 6, .PDF, 120 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40325113&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Toxicological%20Report-Redacted.PDF - Photo 1) View of the Accident Site in the Bay. Photo Provided by the Maine State Police. (item 7, .PDF, 306 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40324168&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%201)%20View%20of%20the%20Accident%20Site%20in%20the%20Bay.%20Photo%20Provided%20by%20the%20Maine%20State%20Police.-Master.PDF - Photo 2) Close Up View of the Submerged Ultralight in the Bay Water. Photo Provided by the Maine State Police. (item 8, .PDF, 391 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40324169&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%202)%20Close%20Up%20View%20of%20the%20Submerged%20Ultralight%20in%20the%20Bay%20Water.%20Photo%20Provided%20by%20the%20Maine%20State%20Police.-Master.PDF - Photo 3) View of the Recovered Wreckage. Photo Provided by the Maine State Police. (item 9, .PDF, 683 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40324170&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%203)%20View%20of%20the%20Recovered%20Wreckage.%20Photo%20Provided%20by%20the%20Maine%20State%20Police.-Master.PDF - Photo 4) Limitation and Certification Labeled on the Ultralight. Photo Provided by the Maine State Police. (item 10, .PDF, 379 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40324172&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%204)%20Limitation%20and%20Certification%20Labeled%20on%20the%20Ultralight.%20Photo%20Provided%20by%20the%20Maine%20State%20Police.-Master.PDF - Photo 5) Operating Limitation Placard on the Ultralight. Photo Provided by the Maine State Police. (item 11, .PDF, 531 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40324174&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%205)%20Operating%20Limitation%20Placard%20on%20the%20Ultralight.%20Photo%20Provided%20by%20the%20Maine%20State%20Police.-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.