Report provides details in mid-November plane crash
UNION CITY, Tenn. — The National Transportation Safety Board shared an update on a plane crash that took place in Union City in mid-November.
The Aviation Investigation Preliminary Report states that a private pilot and a flight instructor were killed when the Xtremeair GMBH XA42 crashed into a solar panel farm that was near the airport.
The two — who were previously identified as Scott McDonald and Stan Hales by Don Coady, Airport Manager of Everett-Stewart Regional Airport — were conducting an instructional flight, the report states.
The report states that the flight instructor was providing instruction to all three owners of the recently purchased plane “for familiarization and to meet insurance requirements.”
The other two owners of the aircraft were on the ground and witnessed the crash, the report states.
The report says the plane was attempting a 360° snap roll, with it eventually entering a downward spin and crashing.
The report states in part:
“He estimated that the airplane entered the maneuver at an altitude of about 1,200 ft above ground level (agl) and reached the top of the loop around 2,000 ft agl. He stated that, rather than completing a 360° snap roll at the top of the loop, the airplane’s roll continued through 540°, and the airplane was upright when it should have finished the roll inverted and continued through the remainder of the loop. By this time, the airplane had slowed considerably, the engine was at full power, and the gyroscopic effect of the propeller pulled the nose down, with no airspeed, and the airplane entered a spin. Once in the spin, the rotation stopped, then the airplane entered a secondary spin and descended to ground contact. He estimated that the airplane descended in a nose-down attitude of about 75°.”
The report states goes on to say:
“The other co-owner stated that the engine “sounded great” as the airplane entered the avalanche maneuver. During the snap roll, “the nose did an extra rotation in the roll axis,” and the airplane stopped upright and yawed to the left. He stated that it was possible that the airplane entered a “gyroscopic tumble” before entering a 1.25-turn spin. The airplane recovered from the spin about 500 ft agl, and the co-owner speculated that the pilots may have, “tried to pull out there,” before the airplane entered another spin. When asked, the co-owner said that the engine was running “at full power,” but that once the spin was fully developed, he could not recall what the engine sound was.”
The report goes on to later detail the impact and condition the plane was in following the crash.
You can read the full report here.
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