Tyndall Air Force Base Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Panama City, Florida 32405
Saturday, March 22, 2003 14:31 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

N195SF crashed while performing in an airshow at Tyndall Air Force Base, Panama City, Florida , and there were several witnesses present. According to FAA inspectors who witnessed the accident, the pilot was supposed to race a jet truck but the truck was late commencing the race to the pilot initiated a looping maneuver commencing at 50 feet. The inspectors stated that the airplane climbed in the loop to an altitude of about 300 feet, and at the top of the maneuver it appeared to have stalled. they said it descended in a level attitude with a high rate of descent and impacted the ground fatally injuring the pilot. According to witnesses the engine sounded as if it was functioning normally daring the whole flight. An FAA licensed airframe and powerplant mechanic examined the airplane and no preaccident anomalies were found to exist with the flight controls.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's attempted abrupt maneuver at a low altitude resulting in loss of control and collision with terrain before control could be regained.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/22/2003
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1431
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Panama City
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 32405
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 301243N
Event Location Longitude 0854058W
Event Location Airport Tyndall Air Force Base
Event Location Nearest Airport ID PAM
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 18
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1534 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID PAM
Elevation of weather observation facility 18
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 7
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 22
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 12
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 270
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 14
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.97
Density Altitude (feet) --
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) 17604
NTSB Notification Source FAA ATL Comm. Center
NTSB Notification Date Mar 22 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1545
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 28 2005 2:59PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Birmingham, Alabama

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N195SF
NTSB Number MIA03LA079
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Techno Avia
Aircraft Model SP-95
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 1492050100
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 1
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 246
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Airshow Unlimited Inc.,
Aircraft Owner Street Address 3511 Silverside Road, Suite 105
Aircraft Owner City Wilmington
Aircraft Owner State DE
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 19810
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) Air Race/Show
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code PAM
Departure City Panama City
Departure State --
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1430
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code PAM
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record --
User who most recently changed record --
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 31L
Runway Length 10000
Runway Width 200
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --