Unregistered Aircraft, Unlicensed Pilot, Ignored Warnings About
WX
One of the true tragedies of aviation comes from those accidents
that are so clearly avoidable and despite the fairly short synopsis
of a recent PPC accident, the details add up quickly to a no-win
scenario where a little judgement could have stopped a series of
bad calls that resulted in the death of the pilot. What a
shame...
File Photo
NTSB Identification: WPR11LA270
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, June 18, 2011 in Tooele, UT
Aircraft: Six Shooter, Inc Skye Ryder Aerochute, registration:
NONE
Injuries: 1 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may
contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when
the final report has been completed.
On June 18, 2011, about 2045 mountain daylight time, an
unregistered Six Shooter Skye Ryder Aerochute weight-shift powered
parachute impacted a fence about 10 miles west of Tooele, Utah. The
individual who was piloting the parachute, who was the sole
occupant, was killed in the accident sequence, and the powered
parachute, which was owned and operated by the person piloting it,
sustained substantial damage. The 14 Code of Federal Regulations
Part 91 personal pleasure flight, which departed the Iosepa
Recreation Area at a time estimated to be about 15 minutes prior to
the accident, was being operated in visual meteorological
conditions. No flight plan had been filed.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector
who responded to the scene, about 30 minutes prior to the accident,
the person piloting the parachute had called the individual who had
taught him how to fly it. During that conversation he said that he
was thinking about going flying, but the person who taught him how
to fly it told him that the winds were way beyond the limits of the
parachute, and that he should not take it into the air. Because the
pilot continued to express his desire to go flying, the person who
had taught him how to fly it offered to come to the area where the
pilot wanted to fly in order to check out the wind conditions. When
that person reached a location almost to the place where the pilot
was supposed to be waiting, he found the pilot and the parachute
entangled in a barbed wire fence. He also noted that the variable
winds were blowing at 30 knots with gusts to 35 knots.
The powered parachute was not registered with the FAA, and the
person piloting it did not possess an FAA pilot certificate.