29 Mar 2021: AVIAT INC A-1

29 Mar 2021: AVIAT INC A-1 (N800MH) — Unknown operator

1 fatality • Cave Spring, GA, United States

Probable cause

The pilot's inadequate visual lookout and failure to maintain clearance from a power line.

— NTSB Determination

Accident narrative

HISTORY OF FLIGHT On March 29, 2021, about 1800 eastern daylight time, a Aviat Husky A-1, N800MH, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Cave Springs, Georgia. The commercial pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was owned by the pilot, who was operating it as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to a witness in the area, the pilot was circling low over his house and waving at him. He said that after circling for about 5 minutes, the airplane departed the area. As he watched the airplane head north, it collided with a power line. The airplane pitched down abruptly and descended into a ravine, where it collided with the ground. He said the broken power line “knocked out” the power, and a brush fire started because of the power line contacting the dry brush. The witness said he rushed down the ravine to assist the pilot and contacted the local authorities. WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION Assessment of the wreckage site revealed that a power line was struck above the ravine where the airplane came to rest. The power line was broken and was about 500 ft aft of the airplane wreckage. All flight control components were located at the wreckage site. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the airframe, and both wing assemblies. Postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION The Office of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Georgia, performed an autopsy on the pilot. His cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries. Toxicology testing performed at the Federal Aviation Administration Forensic Sciences Laboratory was negative for carbon monoxide and drugs.

Contributing factors

  • Pilot
  • Contributed to outcome

Conditions

Weather
VMC, vis 10sm

Loading the flight search…

What you can do on Flight Finder

  • Search flights between any two airports with live fares.
  • By aircraft — pick a plane model (e.g. Boeing 787, Airbus A350) and see every route it flies from your origin.
  • Route map — click any airport worldwide to explore its destinations, or draw a radius to find nearby airports.
  • Global aviation safety — aviation accident database, 5,200+ records since 1980, with map and rankings by aircraft and operator.
  • NTSB safety feed — recent U.S. aviation accidents and incidents from the official NTSB CAROL database, updated daily.

Frequently asked questions

How do I search flights by aircraft type on FlightFinder?

Pick an aircraft model — Boeing 737, Airbus A320, A380, Boeing 787 Dreamliner and more — enter your origin airport, and FlightFinder shows every route that plane flies from there with live fares.

Which aircraft types can I filter by?

We support Boeing 737/747/757/767/777/787, the full Airbus A220/A319/A320/A321/A330/A340/A350/A380 family, Embraer E170/E175/E190/E195, Bombardier CRJ and Dash 8, and the ATR 42/72 turboprops.

Is FlightFinder free to use?

Search and schedules are free. Pro ($4.99/month, $39/year, or $99 one-time lifetime) unlocks the enriched flight card — on-time stats, CO₂ per passenger, amenities, live gate & weather — plus My Trips with push alerts.

Where does the route data come from?

Live schedules come from Amadeus, AeroDataBox and Travelpayouts. Observed routes (which aircraft actually flew a given city pair) are crowdsourced from adsb.lol ADS-B data under the Open Database License.