ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 144853
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| Date: | Friday 6 April 2012 |
| Time: | 16:45 |
| Type: |  Comp Air 8SF |
| Owner/operator: | Spanish Fly Enterprises Inc. |
| Registration: | N548SF |
| MSN: | 0585552921 |
| Engine model: | Walter 601D |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Everglades Airpark (X01), FL -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | X01 |
| KCOI | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On April 6, 2012, at 1645 eastern daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Comp Air 8 CA8-SF, N548SF, was substantially damaged when it impacted the ground shortly after takeoff from Everglades Airpark (X01), Everglades City, Florida. The certificated private pilot was fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the flight which was destined for Merritt Island Airport (COI), Merritt Island, Florida. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
The pilot was a professional fisherman who produced his own fishing show. According to interviews with the pilot’s family and friends, he had flown into Everglades Airpark earlier in the week to film the show.
The pilot’s cameraman reported to local law enforcement that they did some filming on the day of the accident, and then he drove the pilot to the airport for his return flight to COI. The cameraman observed the pilot perform a preflight inspection on the airplane, and then walk toward the airport operations building to pay his parking fee. At that point, the cameraman left the airport, and therefore did not observe the takeoff.
A witness observed the airplane depart from runway 33 and make a sharp right turn at an altitude of about 100 to 150 feet. The airplane became almost inverted, with the right wing down, before it rolled back toward a level attitude. The nose remained in a nose-down attitude and the airplane banked to the left before impacting the ground in a 10-15 degree left-wing-low attitude.
Another witness, who was also a pilot, observed the accident airplane depart the airport to the north. According to the witness, the airplane took off with an “extremely sharp upward angle.” As the airplane climbed, it appeared to be “shimmying the wings,” which the witness described as “indicative of a stall.” He then heard a change in the pitch of the propeller as the airplane turned “sharply” to the right, “with the wind.” The airplane “flattened out” before impacting the ground.
- Probable Cause : The pilot’s failure to maintain sufficient airspeed during the initial climb after takeoff, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and loss of airplane control.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2012/apr/06/plane-crash-reported-everglades-city/
http://www.abc-7.com/story/17353675/2012/04/06/plane-crash-reported-in-collier-county
http://www.marcoislandflorida.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120406/NEWS0119/120406034/1187/Pilot-dies-after-plane-crashes-Everglades-Airpark?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CHome%7Cs
https://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/brief.aspx?ev_id=20120406X84844&key=1
https://www.planepictures.net/v3/show_en.php?id=923574 (photo)
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 06-Apr-2012 18:44 | RobertMB | Added |
| 23-Apr-2012 22:51 | Geno | Updated [Time, Destination airport, Source] |
| 18-Mar-2013 15:20 | TB | Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:28 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 18-Jul-2018 08:26 | Captain Adam | Updated [Narrative] |
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