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...

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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.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov