2011 Wautoma Sky Ranger Crash (N7501Y)

Accident Overview and Immediate Sequence of Events On August 1, 2011, at approximately 0820 central daylight time, an Edwards Sky Ranger, an experimental light sport airplane with the registration N7501Y, impacted terrain near Wautoma, Wisconsin. The aircraft was owned and operated by a sport pilot under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. The pilot was seriously injured, while the sole passenger sustained fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the cross-country flight, which was destined for a private airstrip near Maquoketa, Iowa. The pilot reported taking off heading east from the grass runway at Wautoma Metropolitan Airport (Y50) and climbing to about 200 feet over the east end of the runway. He stated that he circled to perform an overfly of the airport. After straightening out, the pilot reported losing control over the horizontal tail. He pulled back on the control stick several times with no result, and the airplane then dove straight down, impacting the ground 100 feet from the end of the runway. ## Eyewitness Account An eyewitness, who had previously owned three Sky Rangers, logged hundreds of hours instructing in the type, and had taught the accident pilot to fly 15 to 16 years earlier, provided a detailed account. According to the witness, the pilot completed a preflight inspection that included topping off the 20-gallon fuel tank and checking the oil. The pilot then began his takeoff roll along runway 08. After liftoff, the pilot leveled the airplane just above the runway and built up airspeed before performing a sharp pull-up. The airplane climbed to 100 to 150 feet before beginning a left-hand turn, as if the pilot intended to fly back over the eyewitness. While in the turn, the airplane appeared to stall and dropped out of the witness's view. Seconds later, the witness heard the airplane impact the ground. The eyewitness further reported that the engine sounded smooth during the flight and appeared to be at full power as the airplane descended toward the ground. ## Post-Accident Examination The National Transportation Safety Board Investigator-in-Charge conducted an examination of the airplane at the accident site. The crash site began with an impact scrape followed by an eight-foot-long, three-foot-wide impact crater that preceded the main wreckage. The crater contained pieces of the propeller and fiberglass from the cowling and windscreen. The accident site proceeded along a 242-degree heading. About 62 feet from the initial ground impact scrape, the main wreckage came to rest upright in a 35-degree nose-down attitude, oriented on a 142-degree heading. All airplane components were accounted for. The cowling, engine, engine mounts, and firewall underneath and behind were crushed aft and twisted about 30 degrees counterclockwise. The forward cockpit area and main landing gear were crushed and bent aft and upward. Both wings remained attached to the fuselage. The left wing rear spar was fractured at mid-span and bent upward, and the left wing strut was bent upward. The right wing was undamaged. The fuselage, aft of the cockpit, and empennage showed no damage. All three blades of the carbon fiber propeller were found broken aft and splintered, and the propeller spinner was crushed aft and twisted. ## Mechanical and Control Findings Flight control continuity was established from the cockpit control stick and rudder pedals to each respective flight control surface. An examination of the engine and other airplane systems showed no preimpact anomalies that would have contributed to the accident.