Frazier Tangent N72TZ Accident at Nampa Municipal Airport

Accident Overview and Flight History On September 24, 2009, about 1030 mountain daylight time, a Frazier Tangent, N72TZ, experimental category airplane, collided with terrain during high-speed taxi tests at Nampa Municipal Airport, Nampa, Idaho. The commercial pilot was operating the aircraft under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The pilot was killed, and the airplane was substantially damaged. According to a colleague of the pilot, the pilot was performing high-speed taxi tests and routinely raised the nose of the airplane during the test runs. During the test run that precipitated the accident, the airplane became airborne and rose to about 75 feet above ground level, started a right-hand turn, stalled, and impacted terrain in a flat attitude. Audible engine sounds could be heard from the airplane throughout the event.