According to the pilot’s friend, the pilot had been working on the kit airplane, a Christavia MK1, for several months in preparation to have the airplane certificated.
The pilot texted his friend to ask if he could taxi the airplane on the private airstrip, which was located at the friend’s residence near Oral, South Dakota. At the time of the pilot’s request, the friend was not at home.
The friend arrived home about 1645 and observed the pilot taxiing the airplane.
About 1700, the friend observed the airplane airborne, and the pilot completed two touch-and-go landings on the private airstrip, then departed to the south.
About 1720, the friend texted the pilot to inquire about his location and there was no response. The friend then departed in his Piper airplane to look for the pilot. The friend located the accident airplane, which had crashed in a field near the pilot’s residence, about two miles from the private airstrip.
The friend then returned to his private airstrip to respond to the accident site in his car.
The friend noted the pilot, who died in the crash, had the lap belt restraint secured, and the shoulder harness restraint was not used.
According to the pilot’s friend and FAA records, the pilot did not hold a pilot certificate and had no previous training or flight experience.
Post-accident examination of the airplane revealed that the left-wing aft spar was separated at the wing root, and the wing was displaced forward. The lower forward fuselage was crushed upward and aft. The outboard right wing displayed leading edge aft crush damage.
A ground scar consistent with the wing leading edge was located below the wing.
The engine was displaced downward and to the right. The fixed-pitch propeller was located about 5 feet forward of the main wreckage and was separated at the engine crankshaft flange. The propeller blades displayed forward twisting deformation.
Probable Cause: The noncertificated pilot’s failure to maintain control of the airplane, which led to the airplane exceeding its critical angle-of-attack and subsequent aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s decision to attempt a flight with no previous flight experience.
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This January 2022 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
Sounds like the tragic Greek myth of Daedalus & his son Icarus flying too close to sun. Such a sad event.
Hmm. So this fellow “worked on” this aircraft for several months? This kit takes +/- 2000 hours to build, so this man spent 23 hours EVERY DAY, building it? Nah…..ain’t gonna happen!
This aircraft reminds me of an Aeronca 7AC in design and specifications, and definitely is not a Part 103 craft, so an operator with no prior flight experience is in for a very rough ride!
This reminds me of an applicant who contacted our MIDO back in 1989. He had obtained a kit aircraft that had been built and operated in Canada as an amateur built aircraft. It had later been disassembled and shipped to this applicant, who had recently reassembled it. I obtained the TCAA file on the aircraft, and set up an appointment with the man to perform a certification inspection on his aircraft. On the morning of the appointment, I was enroute to his airport in York, PA, and on the car radio there was a report of a fatal aircraft crash there in the prior evening. Turned out to be the fellow I had the inspection appointment with. He had gotten impatient, took off in the aircraft which was improperly rigged, got into a situation where he did a sharp pull-up, overstressed a wing strut attachment, shed a wing and spiraled in. None of this had to happen!
Sort of related old expression: “Sin in haste. Repent at leisure.” Too bad for that guy. — and his friends and family. Alas.
Regards/J
“The Dunning-Kruger effect is a type of cognitive bias in which people believe they are smarter and more capable than they are. Essentially, low-ability people do not possess the skills needed to recognize their own incompetence. The combination of poor self-awareness and low cognitive ability leads them to overestimate their capabilities.1”
Never heard of this one. Thanks for the education! A common sense statement of fact.
Regards/J
Uncertificated pilots in the rural Great Plains are not uncommon.
Had the same training, experience, and licensing Orville had.
But he did miraculously do two touch and goes.
The “probable causes” analysts usually remind me of the professors telling Einstein to get a day job.
The “probable causes” analysts usually remind me of the professors telling Einstein to get a day job. LOL.
Orville was careful and lucky. He could have stalled and nosed-over and gained altitude to the Promised Land, but fate smiled on him that day. BTW: Einstein did have a day job. He worked for the German patent office.
Regards/J
Must be an analyst, you missed the point.
Hi Jim: Thanks for the reference. Yet another example of someone not knowing or suspecting their limitations. Would you drive without some driver training, like a relative in the right seat or highschool driver ed? No, but fly an airplane? Sure! What can go wrong? A sadly wasted young lilfe.
Regards/J
Upon hereing Bout this accident,
I’m so sorry for this Guy,To work something and get it running, is a accomplishment there in its onself. I know he wanted to get it to his house, Where he could fine Tune it…”Things Happen for a Reason”..He should have Thought about it alittle more..
Yes but — it doesn’t sound like a mechanical failure. Sounds more like ‘Kid at the Stick’ (old Alfred Hitchcock Presents TV episode from the 1950s). Wonder if his parents knew about his test drive? Wonder if he had parents living where he lives? Nobody to restrain his impetuous playful and deadly instincts. Very sad.
Regards/J
So, this 19 YO was working on a 30 year old experimental aircraft, and had no pilot certificate or flight training, per the docket.
I’m sure that he also had no A&P certificate.
I’ll assume that no one who knew him advised him to not operate the aircraft, or suggest he get some pilot training.
So, WRT Mr. Potter’s comments on other articles, anyone can own an aircraft, and there is no way to stop a person from trying to fly an aircraft… no police, no FAA folks….no one, especially at a private airstrip where there are no other pilots to advise him on being more respectful of the FAA regs.!!!
A young life ended for no good reason.!!
This is a homebuilt aircraft. No A&P certificate is required. Tens of thousands of amateur-built airplanes constructed by people without A&P certificates operate safely and well in our country. Stall / spin accidents do occur among pilots with thousands of hours, and are just as inexcusable. EAA chapters have an excellent program to assure safely-built aircraft and good pilot preparation before first flights. It is hard to understand why a homebuilder would not take advantage of the help from such chapters. There is one in Rapid City, SD, only an hour away from Oral, not a long distance in that part of the country.