ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 268398
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| Date: | Wednesday 6 October 2021 |
| Time: | 19:09 |
| Type: | Sea and Sky Krucker Cygnet |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N38AT |
| MSN: | H20057 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2010 |
| Engine model: | Rotax 912UL |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Lake Travis near Point Venture, TX -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Point Venture, TX |
| Point Venture, TX | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On October 6, 2021, about 1909 central daylight time, a weight-shift control Sea and Sky Cygnet, N38AT, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Point Venture, Texas. The pilot was fatally injured. The aircraft was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
The pilot's wife, who witnessed the accident flight, reported that he trailered the aircraft to a nearby marina, set up the aircraft, and took off. He flew westbound about 150 ft above the water and made several turns without issue. Another witness reported that the engine sounded 'normal' and 'steady' when the aircraft pitched up steeply. It kept climbing and this witness thought the pilot was conducting an aerobatic maneuver. The nose of the aircraft dropped, and the aircraft descended into the water. Neither witness reported any visual anomalies with the aircraft.
A postaccident examination did not reveal any anomalies with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operations.
Varying coastlines, such as the peninsula where the accident flight was conducted, can also affect local wind conditions by creating areas of convergence. Updrafts, downdrafts, and thermals can cause the nose of a weight-shift-control aircraft to raise and lower during flight. Since the pilot was reportedly accustomed to flying over the ocean, it is possible the local wind conditions affected the aircraft in ways he did not expect. It was likely in response to these wind conditions that the pilot abruptly pitched the aircraft that resulted in a nose-high attitude and subsequent stall at a low altitude, which did not allow for recovery before the aircraft impacted the water.
Probable Cause: The pilot's abrupt pitch up maneuver in response to the localized wind conditions which resulted in an aerodynamic stall at low altitude and subsequent impact with water.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB CEN22LA008
https://flightaware.com/resources/registration/N38AT
Location
Images:
Photo: NTSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 07-Oct-2021 13:46 | Captain Adam | Added |
| 07-Oct-2021 18:52 | musicman_786 | Updated [Total fatalities] |
| 08-Oct-2021 01:58 | Geno | Updated [Time, Source, Narrative] |
| 08-Oct-2021 17:14 | RobertMB | Updated [Narrative] |
| 09-Sep-2022 13:29 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Plane category, Category, Accident report] |
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