Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
N/A Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Shepherd, Texas 77371
Sunday, February 16, 2014 13:11 CST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
A ground witness reported that the pilot made a radio transmission announcing his intention to perform a rolling maneuver. He and another ground witness stated that they then saw the airplane roll through an inverted position and then transition into a steep, high-speed dive. The left wing separated from the fuselage, and the airplane continued in a near-vertical descent until ground impact. Postaccident examination revealed that the left front wing spar had fractured near the left wing root due to overload.
No records were found indicating that the noncertificated pilot had received dual flight instruction for aerobatics, and the pilot’s friend reported that he did not think that the pilot had ever received any aerobatic flight training. A review of the pilot’s journal revealed that he had recently attempted solo aerobatics in the accident airplane, which resulted in high-speed spiral dives at airspeeds higher than the never exceed speed for the airplane. The pilot likely attempted an aerobatic maneuver that exceeded the airplane’s design limitations, which resulted in the subsequent in-flight breakup of the airplane.
Toxicological reports revealed the presence of amlodipine, a blood pressure medication, in the urine and liver, and autopsy results indicated that the pilot had hypertension; however, it is unlikely that the hypertension or the medication used for its treatment contributed to the accident. Tramadol and its metabolite, which are analgesics, were also present in the urine and liver. Insufficient evidence was available to determine whether the pilot’s use of tramadol contributed to his decision to perform aerobatic maneuvers without training or impaired his ability to complete the maneuver successfully.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The noncertificated pilot’s improper decision to attempt aerobatic maneuvers that exceeded the airplane’s design limitations, which resulted in the subsequent in-flight breakup of the airplane. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s lack of aerobatic flight instruction.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 2/16/2014 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1311 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Standard Time |
| Event City | Shepherd |
| Event State | TEXAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 77371 |
| Event Date Year | 2014 |
| Event Date Month | 2 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 302837N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0945514W |
| Event Location Airport | N/A |
| 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 | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1315 Central Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 210 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | 6R3 |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 150 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 9 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 3600 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| 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) | 24 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 16 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 160 |
| 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) | 30.06 |
| 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 | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 33040 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Federal Aviation Administratio |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 28 2014 1:22PM |
| User who most recently changed record | folm |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N3000V |
| NTSB Number | CEN14FA140 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | HILLAM SCOTT L |
| Aircraft Model | RANS S 10 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 0996178-S |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 960 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| 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 | Jun 20 2013 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 390 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | C91-A |
| Aircraft Owner Name | GOLDSMITH JAMES I |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | New Caney |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 77357 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | GOLDSMITH JAMES I |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | New Caney |
| Operator State | TX |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 77357 |
| 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 | XS99 |
| Departure City | Shepherd |
| Departure State | TX |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1245 |
| Departure Time Zone | CST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | XS99 |
| Destination City | Shepherd |
| Destination State | TX |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 28 2014 6:55PM |
| User who most recently changed record | folm |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |