What happened
On September 28, 2015, at approximately 1925 CDT, an experimental, amateur-built Rans S18 crashed in a field approximately two miles east of Shattuck, Oklahoma. The aircraft, bearing registration UNREG, had departed from a grass airstrip located about 0.5 miles east of the crash site. The flight was intended to proceed to Gage Airport (GAG).
At the time of the accident, the pilot was flying with two other pilots operating ultralight trike aircraft. The trike pilots had completed several landings at the grass strip and were taxiing toward the northeast end of the runway for departure. Because the Rans S18 was faster than the trike aircraft, it departed while the others were still taxiing. One trike pilot noted that the accident aircraft may have initially departed to the west and might have been attempting a turn to join the other aircraft when the accident occurred. No witnesses saw the actual impact, though a bystander observed the wreckage in a field shortly after the departure time.
The pilot, who was the sole occupant of the aircraft, sustained 1 fatal injury.
The investigation
An examination of the wreckage showed the aircraft impacted the terrain in a steep, nose-down attitude. The impact heading was toward the southeast. Structural damage included:
- Aft crushing and buckling on the leading edges of the wings.
- Aft and upward crushing on the nose of the fuselage.
- A buckle in the tail boom at mid-span.
The flight controls remained functional from the cockpit to the control surfaces. The engine and gearbox showed no signs of failure or anomalies prior to the impact. The three-bladed composite propeller remained attached, though one blade was broken, one was shattered, and the third showed delamination.
An autopsy was performed in Oklahoma City. The cause of death was attributed to multiple trauma. Toxicology reports detected atenolol and ethanol in the blood and urine, but investigators found no evidence that medical conditions or substances contributed to the accident.