Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Lowndesboro, Alabama 36752
Sunday, March 28, 2004 11:15 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The homebuilt airplane collided with trees following a loss of control while maneuvering at 1000 feet. The pilot began a right turn and encountered a wind gust. The pilot stated that his airspeed was low and the airplane entered a stall and subsequently a spin. When efforts to regain control of the airplane failed, the pilot deployed the ballistic parachute system, and the airplane settled into a stand of trees. The pilot reported no mechanical problems with the airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed while manuevering which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin. A factor was trees.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/28/2004
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1115
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Lowndesboro
Event State ALABAMA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 36752
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 321651N
Event Location Longitude 0863607W
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport --
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1153 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 340
Weather Observation Facility ID MGM
Elevation of weather observation facility 221
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 25
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 6000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 26
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 230
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.19
Density Altitude (feet) 1317
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 15817
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Mar 28 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1330
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jul 29 2004 7:30AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Birmingham FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N910MB
NTSB Number ATL04CA083
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 Dantzer Lawrence L
Aircraft Model Rans S-12
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 1090024
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection --
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 Dennis G. Lewis
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2359 Newport Landing Road
Aircraft Owner City Lowndesboro
Aircraft Owner State AL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 36752
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 PVT
Departure City Lowndesboro
Departure State AL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1100
Departure Time Zone CST
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 Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Feb 8 2006 10:51AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\HAMG
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --