# NTSB NYC08LA150: Hatle Rans S-12, N6189, Rincon, GA, March 29, 2008 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: March 29, 2008, 13:20 local (17:20 UTC) - Place: Rincon, GA - Coordinates: 32.241111, -81.206947 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.2411&lon=-81.2069&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Initial climb](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/350) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Initial climb: Aerodynamic stall/spin](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241) - Highest injury: Serious injuries - Injuries: 1 serious - Status: Completed, report January 29, 2009 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FAA/FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 67733 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=NYC08LA150 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/67733/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC08LA150 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed during initial climb which led to an aerodynamic stall. ## 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 · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md) - [Performance/control parameters: airspeed](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062010): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 1,681 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062010/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Initial climb: Aerodynamic stall/spin](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241) (defining event); cases with it: [All aircraft, 1,529 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241/sequence.md) - [Uncontrolled descent: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis The student pilot/owner departed from a private strip climbed rapidly before entering a steep left turn about 125 feet above ground level. The property owner, a friend of the pilot, witnessed the accident and stated "the airplane stalled, and cart wheeled to the left." He added that the engine ran smoothly and continuously all the way to ground contact. Examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of mechanical anomalies. ## Factual narrative According to FAA records, the airplane was an amateur-built Rans S-12 with a "pending" registration. No airworthiness certificate, no registration certificate, and no operating limitations were recovered from the wreckage. The data plate on the airplane showed July 7, 1994 as the date of manufacture. The empty weight placarded on the data plate was 652 pounds, and the gross weight placarded was 1,000 pounds. The hobbs meter displayed 718 total aircraft hours. The FAA and law enforcement officers were unable to locate any airframe or powerplant logbooks. Therefore, the airplane's maintenance and inspection history could not be determined. On March 29, 2008, at 1320 eastern daylight time, an amateur-built Rans S-12, N6189F, was substantially damaged following a loss of control and uncontrolled descent after takeoff from a private airstrip near Rincon, Georgia. The student pilot/owner was seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the local personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector responded to the scene and interviewed the property owner, a friend of the pilot, who witnessed the accident. According to the witness, the airplane lifted off from the 1,000-foot strip prior to the midpoint, climbed "rapidly" to about 125 feet, where the airplane "stalled, and took a sharp left turn." In a telephone interview, the witness stated that when the airplane reached about 125 feet above the runway, "the airplane stalled, and cart wheeled to the left. I never heard the engine slow down." The left wing then struck a pine tree, and the airplane descended and collided with terrain. According to the witness, the engine was running smoothly without interruption throughout the takeoff roll, the flight, and the descent to ground contact. At 1353, the weather reported at the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport (SAV), 15 miles south of the site, included few clouds at 4,500 feet with winds from 270 degrees at 10 knots. The temperature was 26 degrees Celsius, and the dew point was 8 degrees Celsius. According to FAA records, the pilot held a third-class medical certificate issued March 2006. He did not hold a pilot certificate. No pilot logbook was recovered, and law enforcement officers were unable to locate any pilot records. The student-rated pilot/owner's total flight experience and total experience in the Rans S-12 could not be determined. The pilot's friend who witnessed the accident, stated that he thought the pilot had somewhere between 50 and 100 total hours of flight experience, and that the pilot had been flying for approximately 15 years. He added that he had "begged" the pilot to get flight instruction in the accident airplane. Examination of photographs of the wreckage revealed that the airplane was a high wing, of a metal tube and fabric construction, with an aft-mounted engine and a pusher propeller. The vertical and horizontal stabilizers, with the rudder and elevators were attached to a tailboom. The cockpit area and wing structures appeared to have been crushed in an aft direction consistent with a vertical descent. The structural tubing surrounding the cockpit area was crushed and cut in numerous places by rescue personnel. The FAA inspector established control continuity from the cockpit to all flight control surfaces. ## Aircraft - Registration: N6189 (not matched to a registry record) - Reported make and model: Hatle Rans S-12 - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 1092307 - Airframe hours: 718 - Engines: reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: James W. Morris - Registered owner: James W. Morris - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Departed: Rincon, GA - Destination: Rincon, GA - Airport: Hooter Field, runway 15, 1,500 × 50 ft, grass/turf ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 65; injuries: serious; student; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; seat: front; flight hours: 50 total ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 240° at 8 knots, gusting 16 - Visibility: 9 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 79 °F, dew point 46 °F - Altimeter: 30.06 inHg - Observed at: SAV, 15 nm away 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.