Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
Williamsburg Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Kingstree, South Carolina 29556
Saturday, May 12, 2012 11:00 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
According to the pilot, the accident flight was to familiarize himself with the recently purchased airplane. He conducted a few high-speed taxi runs before taking off to practice in the traffic pattern. After takeoff, the pilot turned downwind and set the airplane up for a full-stop landing. While on final approach, about 50 feet above a tree line, the airplane’s right wing dropped downward. The pilot attempted to level the wings but lost control, and the airplane collided with the ground short of the runway. Postaccident examination revealed that both wings were separated from the airplane and the fuselage was fragmented. According to the pilot, there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that he had 1 hour of total flight experience in the accident make and model airplane.
In a 2012 safety study on "The Safety of Experimental Amateur-Built Aircraft," the NTSB concluded that "purchasers of used [experimental amateur-built] (E-AB)aircraft face particular challenges in transitioning to the unfamiliar E-AB aircraft. Like builders of new E-AB aircraft, they must learn to manage the unique handling characteristics of their aircraft and learn the systems, structure, and equipment, but without the firsthand knowledge afforded to the builder." Thus, the NTSB recommended that the Federal Aviation Administration and the Experimental Aircraft Association "complete planned action to create a coalition of kit manufacturers, type clubs, and pilot and owner groups and (1) develop transition training resources and (2) identify and apply incentives to encourage both builders of experimental amateur-built aircraft and purchasers of used experimental amateur-built aircraft to complete the training that is developed."
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot’s failure to maintain airplane control during the approach to landing, which resulted in a collision with terrain short of the runway. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's lack of experience in the airplane.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/12/2012 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1100 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Kingstree |
| Event State | SOUTH CAROLINA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 29556 |
| Event Date Year | 2012 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 334301N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0795115W |
| Event Location Airport | Williamsburg Regional Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | CKI |
| 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 | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 67 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1053 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 180 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | FLO |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 147 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 29 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| 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) | 24 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 11 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 170 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 5 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.34 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| 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) | 30475 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Southern ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 6 2012 3:04PM |
| User who most recently changed record | gots |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N58RS |
| NTSB Number | ERA12CA333 |
| 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 | LUTTENBACHER KURT |
| Aircraft Model | BUSHBY MUSTANG 2 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | M2-1033 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | -- |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | Yes |
| Flight Crew Seats | 1 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | 1 |
| 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 6 2011 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 162 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | SCHICK THOMAS PAUL |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | WINTER HAVEN |
| Aircraft Owner State | FL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 33881-1152 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | SCHICK THOMAS PAUL |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | WINTER HAVEN |
| Operator State | FL |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 33881-1152 |
| 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 | CKI |
| Departure City | Kingstree |
| Departure State | SC |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1030 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | CKI |
| Destination City | Kingstree |
| Destination State | SC |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 6 2012 3:04PM |
| User who most recently changed record | gots |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 14 |
| Runway Length | 5000 |
| Runway Width | 75 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |