Aviation Accident Summaries

Aviation Accident Summary DFW05LA069

Holdenville, OK, USA

Aircraft #1

N222JN

Nolen Lite Squared

Analysis

The homebuilt airplane was reported missing on January 14, 2004, when it failed to arrive at its destination during a 127-nautical mile cross-country flight. A farmer located and reported the accident site on February 14, 2005. The accident site was 31-nautical miles short of the destination's airport. A post-impact fire consumed the Rotax-powered airplane; however, flight control continuity was established. The 2,200-hour commercial pilot had his last medical certificate denied on March 30, 1998. An autopsy and toxicological tests could not be performed. The wreckage debris path was along a northwesterly heading in a grassy field. There were no eyewitnesses to the accident. Low clouds prevailed throughout the area during the morning of the accident. Ground scars and signatures of the damage were consistent with an in-flight loss of control; however, the investigation was not able to establish the facts, conditions and circumstances of the mishap.

Factual Information

On January 14, 2005, about 1005 central standard time, a Nolen Lite Squared single-engine experimental airplane, N222JN, was destroyed following a loss of control while maneuvering near Holdenville, Oklahoma. The commercial pilot, the sole occupant, was fatally injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The 127 nautical mile cross-country flight originated from the Cox Field Airport (PRX), near Paris, Texas, at approximately 0930, and was en route to Shawnee Regional Airport (SNL), near Shawnee, Oklahoma. The airplane was reported missing on January 14, 2004, when it failed to arrive at Shawnee Regional Airport. A search for the airplane was conducted during the following weeks until a farmer located and reported the wreckage site on February 14, 2005. The wreckage site was located about four nautical miles northeast of the town of Holdenville, Oklahoma, and 31 nautical miles southeast of the Shawnee Regional Airport. The wreckage site was approximately 15 miles northeast of a straight-line course between Cox Field Airport and Shawnee Regional Airport. A witness, who was located approximately a half mile southeast of the accident site, reported at about 1000 on the day the airplane was reported missing, she heard an airplane come over her house so low that she thought it was going to land on her roof. The witness further reported that the "motor was very strong sounding." An inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) responded to the accident site on February 15, 2005, and reported that wreckage debris path was along a northwesterly heading in a grassy field. The right wing, which was located at the base of a small group of trees, was approximately 100 feet beyond the initial ground scar. The main wreckage, consisting of the fuselage, engine and left wing were located approximately 10 feet beyond the right wing. A post-impact fire consumed the airplane. According to the inspector, control continuity was established to all flight controls and all major components were accounted for at the accident site. The 2,200-hour pilot held a FAA commercial pilot certificate with ratings for single-engine land, multi-engine land, and instrument airplane. His last FAA medical was denied on March 30, 1998. The pilot's personal logbooks were not available for review during the course of the accident investigation. The airplane, manufactured by the pilot, was an experimental Nolen Lite Squared, serial number C02120287. The airplane featured a fabric covered, truss type, welded steel tube fuselage. The folding wings were constructed of wood ribs with aluminum spars. A Rotax engine was installed. The airplane's logbooks were not available for review during the course of the investigation. Due to the length of time before the recovery of the pilot, an autopsy could not be performed and the FAA Toxicology and Accident Research Laboratory, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, was unable to perform toxicological testing of specimens. At 1025, central standard time, the weather observation facility at Mc Alester Regional Airport (MLC), near Mc Alester, Oklahoma, which is located approximately 33 miles east of the accident site, was reporting wind from 020 degrees at five knots, visibility 6 statute miles in haze, clouds scattered at 900 feet, temperature 32 degrees Fahrenheit, dew point 27 degrees Fahrenheit, and a barometric pressure setting of 30.55 inches of Mercury.

Probable Cause and Findings

Undetermined

 

Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database

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