# NTSB SEA97LA089: Ivan Langston Hawk, N627K, Howell, UT, April 19, 1997 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: April 19, 1997, 13:15 local (19:15 UTC) - Place: Howell, UT - Coordinates: 41.789344, -112.489997 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.7893&lon=-112.4900&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 1 fatal - Status: Completed, report October 14, 1997 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 42588 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=SEA97LA089 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/42588/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA97LA089 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to maintain control of the aircraft. Heavy rain and gusting winds were a factor. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - in flight, maneuvering - weather condition - gusts (contributing factor) - weather condition - rain (contributing factor) - aircraft control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - In flight collision with terrain/water, descent - uncontrolled - terrain condition - rock(s)/boulder(s) ## Analysis The aircraft was found positioned in a near vertical nose-down attitude to the terrain at the base of a 40 foot high rock wall that paralleled the shoreline of the Great Salt Lake. A post-crash fire consumed the engine and cockpit. A deputy responding to the accident site shortly after the accident, reported that an isolated storm was rapidly moving through the area at the time of the accident. The deputy reported heavy rain and wind gusts from 25 to 40 knots. ## Factual narrative On April 19, 1997, about 1315 mountain daylight time, an experimental Langston Hawk, N627K, registered to and operated by the pilot as a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, collided with the terrain 18 miles southwest of Howell, Utah. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The aircraft was destroyed by a post crash fire and the commercial pilot, the sole occupant, was fatally injured. The flight had departed from Ogden, Utah, about five and a half hours prior to the accident. Documentation noted at the accident site by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector from the Salt Lake City, Utah, Flight Standards District Office, reported that the aircraft collided on a grassy area in a near vertical nose down and left wing low attitude next to a 40-foot high rock wall. Red paint transfer and pieces of wing material was noted on the lava type rock near the right wing tip. The leading edge of the wings were positioned along the ground with the trailing edge positioned near vertical to the terrain. The cockpit area had been consumed by fire. The empennage was intact and laying in an uphill position on the lava rock wall. Both right and left side ailerons remained attached to their respective hinges. The inboard section of the wing material had burned away exposing the structural tubing of the wing. The rear mounted engine had been exposed to thermal heat. The three propeller blades remained attached to the hub and were straight. The rock wall traveled in a north/south direction. An area of dry grass and small rocks paralleling the rock wall extended to the west about 40 yards, then turned into a mud flat which is around the Great Salt Lake. Information obtained from friends and family of the pilot reported that the pilot frequently flew in this area and would land on the grassy area. The responding deputy from the Box Elder County Sheriff's Department reported that while en route to the accident site, traveling in a westerly direction, he encountered heavy rain and strong gusting winds ranging from 25 to 40 knots from the northwest. After several minutes, the rain and wind began to decrease. By the time the deputy reached the accident site, the storm had passed. The rain stopped and the wind was calm. The deputy reported that the sky was partly cloudy the rest of the day. The FAA inspector, who is a local resident of Salt Lake City, reported that rapidly moving isolated storm cells with heavy rain and strong winds are common to the area for this time of year. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N627K](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N627K-2003-03-20), registration cancelled 2003-03-20, S/N H-T-458-R (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Ivan Langston HAWK - Registry model: [CGS HAWK](https://openairdocs.org/model/cgs-hawk) (registry code 05624DR) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: H-T-458-R - Airframe hours: 152 - Engines: Rotax 503 FC 47 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Fire: On-Ground - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Ivan D. Langston - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Departed: OGD, OGDEN, UT ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 59; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine sea, single-engine land; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: center; toxicology performed; flight hours: 904 total, 152 in this make and model ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 315° at 25 knots, gusting 40 ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 19970419006089A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970419006089A), Apr 19, 1997: Amtr HAWK, Howell, UT, Destroyed, 1 fatal. Impacted out of control near vertical thunderstorms gusty wind heavy rain in area. 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.