Taylor Ultralight Arpt Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Strattanville, Pennsylvania 16258
Saturday, July 1, 2000 21:00 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was conducting low level maneuvers when the airplane pitched up, then fell off on one wing, entered a spin, and descended rapidly until it impacted the ground at approximately a 90-degree vertical angle. All flight control surfaces were found at the accident scene, and the engine was running until ground impact. The unregistered homebuilt airplane had been disassembled for several years. However, the pilot had reassembled it with some friends over the previous winter, and flew it home from South Carolina on the weekend before the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during low level maneuvering, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/1/2000
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 2100
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City STRATTANVILLE
Event State PENNSYLVANIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 16258
Event Date Year 2000
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport TAYLOR ULTRALIGHT ARPT
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 5PA9
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 90
Airport Elevation 1580
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 2056 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 110
Weather Observation Facility ID DUJ
Elevation of weather observation facility 1817
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 20
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Dusk
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 17
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 12
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 0
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal 2
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 411
NTSB Notification Source Allegheny FSDO
NTSB Notification Date Jul 5 2000 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1000
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Mar 4 2001 7:09AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number NONE
NTSB Number NYC00LA184
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Hartzell
Aircraft Model RANS S-12
Aircraft Series Identifier RANS S-12
Aircraft Serial Number
Certified Max Gross Weight 920
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Unknown
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name KENNETH HARTZELL
Aircraft Owner Street Address
Aircraft Owner City KNOX
Aircraft Owner State PA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 16232
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code NONE
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 2050
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 2 2001 4:54PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 31
Runway Length 1550
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --