2015 Zodiac CH 601 HD Accident Near St. Charles Airport (N401)

Accident Overview and Flight History On September 26, 2015, at 1222 central daylight time, an amateur-built Zodiac CH 601 HD airplane, registration N401, impacted terrain near St. Charles Airport (LS40), Ama, Louisiana. The pilot was fatally injured, and the airplane was substantially damaged. The aircraft was registered to Buffalo RD, LLC, and the pilot was operating it as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Day visual meteorological conditions existed near the accident site, and no flight plan had been filed. The local flight originated from LS40 at 1221. GPS data from a Garmin Aera 500 unit in the wreckage indicated the airplane began its takeoff roll on runway 17 at 1221:18. The maximum groundspeed during the takeoff roll was 84 knots. After takeoff, the groundspeed varied between 45 and 96 knots as the airplane turned to a southwesterly heading. At 1222:32, the airplane made a right turn toward the northwest. The last recorded data point at 1222:37 showed the airplane at 66 ft GPS altitude at a groundspeed of 15 knots. The LS40 field elevation is 13 ft. When the airplane failed to return to the airport, a search was initiated, and the wreckage was found the next day about 1300.