Edgefield County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Trenton, South Carolina 29824
Sunday, December 28, 2003 17:00 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to a witness, as the airplane turned to final approach, the nose of the airplane pitched up and the airplane "stalled". The airplane collided with the ground and erupted in fire. The pilot did not report a flight control or mechanical malfunction prior to the accident. No aircraft records were recovered for the airplane, and the wood constructed airframe was consumed by fire.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed which resulted in a stall, and subsequent in-flight collision with terrain.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/28/2003
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1700
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Trenton
Event State SOUTH CAROLINA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 29824
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? Yes
Event Location Latitude 334407N
Event Location Longitude 0814906W
Event Location Airport EDGEFIELD COUNTY
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 6J6
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
Airport Elevation 610
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1653 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 200
Weather Observation Facility ID DNL
Elevation of weather observation facility 423
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 19
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
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) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 18
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 150
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.29
Density Altitude (feet) 537
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) 17532
NTSB Notification Source FAA Communication Center
NTSB Notification Date Dec 28 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1800
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 Columbia FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N8117L
NTSB Number ATL04LA064
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 None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Atkinson
Aircraft Model SA 102.5
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 101
Certified Max Gross Weight 2000
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 No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Jeanne Clavel
Aircraft Owner Street Address 70 Piper Drive
Aircraft Owner City Trenton
Aircraft Owner State SC
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 29847
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Benoit R. Clavel
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 70 Piper Drive
Operator City Trenton
Operator State SC
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 29847
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 6J6
Departure City TRENTON
Departure State SC
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1645
Departure Time Zone EST
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 Approach - VFR pattern - final approach
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 --
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --