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| Date: | Sunday 2 April 2017 |
| Time: | 15:30 |
| Type: | Buckeye Dream Machine |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N4017L |
| MSN: | 16469 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2005 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 139 hours |
| Engine model: | Rotax 582E |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 2 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Farragut, TN -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Powell, TN (None) |
| Powell, TN (None) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On April 2, 2017, about 1530 eastern daylight time, a Buckeye Aviation Dream Machine powered parachute, N4017L, collided with trees and terrain at Knoxville, Tennessee. The sport pilot was fatally injured, and the passenger was seriously injured. The powered parachute was substantially damaged. The powered parachute was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Day, visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local, personal flight. The flight originated at a private, grass airstrip about 1415.
The sport pilot and the passenger were making a local flight in the powered parachute. The passenger, who survived the accident, reported that, about an hour into the flight, the pilot turned to the east toward the passenger's home. After overflying the passenger's home at low altitude, the pilot maneuvered the powered parachute to the east toward rising terrain and trees. The passenger's wife was outside her home at the time of the accident and noticed that the aircraft was flying low, and other witnesses also reported seeing the aircraft flying low before the accident. According to the passenger, the aircraft did not climb quickly enough to clear the trees; the landing gear struck about three trees; and the aircraft dropped into the woods striking tree limbs on the way down.
Postaccident examination of the wreckage did not reveal evidence of a preimpact mechanical malfunction or anomaly, and the passenger reported that he did not notice any significant change in engine speed before the aircraft struck the trees. The engine ran satisfactorily when tested after the accident.
Probable Cause: The pilot's decision to maneuver the aircraft at low altitude, towards rising terrain, which resulted in an inflight collision with trees.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=94952
http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=N4017L
Location
Images:
Photo: NTSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 03-Apr-2017 19:42 | Geno | Added |
| 15-Jan-2018 20:38 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative, Plane category, ] |
| 25-Dec-2024 06:59 | Captain Adam | Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Source, Narrative, Photo, ] |
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