Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Franklin, Maine 04634
Tuesady, August 5, 2008 19:25 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Witnesses observed the non-certificated pilot with a passenger on board the unregistered, experimental light sport aircraft. The pilot of the weight-shift trike was performing a low-level maneuver above the bay when the trike made contact with the water and crashed. One witness, a friend of the pilot, reported that the pilot commonly performed the low-level maneuver as a greeting to the local residents in the area. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any evidence of a preimpact failure or malfunction with the trike and its systems. The postmortem toxicology testing revealed the pilot had a blood alcohol level of 159 mg/dl (0.159%). The pilot would have been substantially impaired and may have been alcohol dependent given his apparent tolerance to the sedative effects of alcohol.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's improper decision to perform low-altitude maneuvers and his failure to maintain clearance from the surface of the bay. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's impairment due to alcohol.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/5/2008
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1925
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Franklin
Event State MAINE
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 04634
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 443442N
Event Location Longitude 0681300W
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1953 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 114
Weather Observation Facility ID BGR
Elevation of weather observation facility 191
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 32
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 6500
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 4500
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) 20
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 12
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 60
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.99
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 1
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 26588
NTSB Notification Source FAA New England ROC
NTSB Notification Date Aug 5 2008 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 5 2010 9:01AM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office FAA/FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number None
NTSB Number MIA08LA161
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 GT Ultralights
Aircraft Model Airborne Edge X
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 582-373
Certified Max Gross Weight 551
Aircraft Category --
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
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 Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Kenneth Tracy
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Franklin
Aircraft Owner State ME
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 04634
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name Kenneth Tracy
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Franklin
Operator State ME
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 04634
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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 None
Departure City Franklin
Departure State ME
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone --
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code None
Destination City Franklin
Destination State ME
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 5 2013 5:04PM
User who most recently changed record broda
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --