Perry-Houston County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Perry, Georgia 31069
Sunday, May 5, 2002 17:00 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The accident airplane was an uncertificated Hispano Aviacion model HA200 Saeta, Spanish military jet airplane, manufactured in 1962, serial number was E-14A-13. An FAA Inspector who responded to the accident stated that the pilot had not been granted a Special Airworthiness certificate permitting it to be flown, because there were yet outstanding items that remained to be performed in order to satisfy FAA requirements. A witness stated that the airplane had been operating normally other than for the brakes, and the pilot who was also an FAA licensed mechanic, took off, intending to taxi the airplane to see if the repairs he had done to the brakes had been successful in correcting "a pull" to the right that had been occurring when taxiing the airplane. The witness further stated that the pilot had said he would taxi down the runway and apply the brakes to ensure they worked properly, and if everything was normal he would probably take off, stay in the traffic pattern, and land. The witness stated he observed the takeoff to the north, and saw the airplane in the traffic pattern, but rather than landing, the airplane continued south, away from the airport. Another witness who lived close to the airport stated that he was reading on his patio, as the airplane passed over his property, and he saw it was low over the trees, and it did not sound as if the engine was operating efficiently. He said that he saw the airplane make a sharp turn to the left, very low over the trees, and descend. At that time he said he realized the airplane was in trouble so he telephone 911 emergency to report the accident and then got his fire extinguisher, entered his car, and drove to the scene, where he observed two large trees burning, the airplane engulfed in flames, and the ground was covered in fuel. According to an FAA inspector who responded to the accident, a third witness stated that he observed the airplane while it was flying southbound it did not sound as if it was operating properly. The inspector further stated that the witness told him that it sounded as if the engine was not generating power and he saw it about a 20 to 30 degrees nose high attitude. The inspector said the witness said the airplane was in the vicinity of a big open field with plenty of room in either direction, and he saw the landing gear extend and then retract, followed by the airplane entering about a 90 degree "knife edged" turn to the left, as if trying to return to the airport when it descended, impacting the ground. The inspector said that when the airplane impacted the ground it impacted at a steep angle and the wreckage was engulfed in flames. He said that the damage precluded him from making any determination of whether there had been any mechanical failure or malfunction. The pilot had accumulated a total of about 3,400 flight hours, of with about 12 hours were in the accident airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilots failure to maintain airspeed while performing a turn at a low altitude, which resulted in a inadvertent stall, an uncontrolled descent, and an impact with trees and terrain.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/5/2002
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1700
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Perry
Event State GEORGIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 31069
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 323036N
Event Location Longitude 0834600W
Event Location Airport Perry-Houston County Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID PXE
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 2
Degrees magnetic from airport 220
Airport Elevation 418
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1653 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID MCN
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 2800
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 23
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 16
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.26
Density Altitude (feet) 900
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 17456
NTSB Notification Source FAA ATL Comm. Center
NTSB Notification Date May 5 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1747
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Mar 30 2005 6:20AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Atlanta, GA

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2000G
NTSB Number MIA02LA093
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion --
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Hispano Aviacion
Aircraft Model HA-200-Saeta
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number E-14A-13
Certified Max Gross Weight 7284
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Unknown
Date of Last Inspection Jan 31 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 760
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Randy A. Smith
Aircraft Owner Street Address 396 Scenic Rte.
Aircraft Owner City Cordelle
Aircraft Owner State GA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 31015
Operator is an individual? No
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? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 PXE
Departure City Perry
Departure State GA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1700
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 Takeoff - initial climb
Report sent to ICAO? Yes
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record --
User who most recently changed record --
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --