Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Lee Bottom Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Hanover, Indiana 47243
Saturday, September 25, 2004 17:00 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The experimental amateur-built aerobatic airplane was substantially damaged when it impacted trees and terrain during an aerobatic maneuver. The pilot reported that they entered a hammerhead [stall maneuver] at 140 - 145 [miles per hour]. The pilot-rated passenger reported that the pilot executed a "sporty" takeoff, followed by a vertical climb. He stated the pilot performed a hammerhead stall and a low-level pass down the runway. The pilot-rated passenger stated that near the end of the runway the pilot once again pulled into a vertical climb, followed by another hammerhead stall. He reported that as the pilot applied power entering the climb the engine hesitated momentarily similar to when the throttle is advanced too quickly. The passenger stated that the aircraft did not have enough altitude to regain airspeed after the stall. Witnesses stated that the accident airplane took off and pulled into a vertical climb. The pilot executed several aerobatic maneuvers including low-level passes over the runway. The witnesses thought the airplane had departed the area when they saw it descend into trees south of the airport. The airport manager, one of the witnesses, stated that the airplane impacted at a 60-degree or more angle and recalled that it was not spinning or turning. The witnesses did not perceive any engine problems. The aircraft impacted a one-lane airport perimeter road south-southeast of the runway. Trees, approximately 25 feet in height, lined both sides of the road. Numerous tree strikes were observed on the tree line south of the road. The aircraft came to rest on the north side of the road, oriented in a southerly direction. A post-accident examination did not reveal any anomalies associated with a pre-impact failure. The operation manual for the accident aircraft stated that the recommended entry speed for a hammerhead stall maneuver was between 130 and 180 miles per hour.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain clearance to the trees and terrain during the aerobatic maneuver. Contributing factors were the pilot's decision to perform a low-level, ostentatious aerobatic display and the trees.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 9/25/2004 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1700 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Hanover |
| Event State | INDIANA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 47243 |
| Event Date Year | 2004 |
| Event Date Month | 9 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 384200N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0852800W |
| Event Location Airport | Lee Bottom |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 64I |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0.5 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 180 |
| Airport Elevation | 470 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1656 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 207 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | SDF |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 501 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 31 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 25000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 11000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| 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) | 25 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 12 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 10 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 8 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.16 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR KSDF 252056Z 03008KT 10SM FEW130 BKN250 26/1 |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 2 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 18091 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Sep 25 2004 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1925 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 13 2005 12:54PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | FAA-Indianapolis FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N8005X |
| NTSB Number | CHI04LA279 |
| 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 | Ernst |
| Aircraft Model | Pitts S2E |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | TB-2 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1600 |
| 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 | Conditional |
| Date of Last Inspection | Mar 1 2004 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 106.3 |
| Airframe Hours | 259.8 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Craig D. Owings |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 4317 Burchdale Street |
| Aircraft Owner City | Kettering |
| Aircraft Owner State | OH |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 45440 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| 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 | No |
| Departure Airport Code | 64I |
| Departure City | Hanover |
| Departure State | IN |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1645 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | I73 |
| Destination City | Dayton |
| Destination State | OH |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Maneuvering |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 9 2005 10:27AM |
| User who most recently changed record | SULP |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |