Primary finding
Probable cause
the attempt by the pilot to execute an aerobatic maneuver with inadequate altitude to effect recovery before impacting terrain.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The pilot took off from the airport to the north, did a pull-up course reversal and then flew southbound over the runway. At the south end of the runway he made a right-hand climbing turn to a northerly heading and commenced an aileron roll. During the roll the nose of the aircraft dropped and the aircraft descended with insufficient altitude to recover. It impacted the ground in a upright, wings level, nose-low attitude and burned on impact. Witnesses reported that the engine sounded normal throughout the flight.
Source record
Factual narrative
On November 3, 1995, at 0910 hours Pacific standard time, a North American AT-6D, N1049A, impacted terrain while maneuvering at low altitude at a private airstrip, 1 mile west of Richvale, California. The aircraft was destroyed and the commercial pilot was fatally injured. The aircraft had been loaned to the pilot for the local area personal flight by the owner, Av-Ag Inc., of Richvale. The flight departed from the Av-Ag Inc. private airport at 0905. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The owner/operator of the aircraft and a mechanic witnessed the accident. They reported that the pilot departed on runway 34, then did a pull-up course reversal and flew southbound over the runway. At the south end of the runway the pilot did a right-hand climbing turn to a northerly heading and commenced an aileron roll. During the roll the nose of the aircraft dropped and the aircraft descended with insufficient altitude to recover. It impacted the ground in a upright, wings level, nose-low attitude and burned on impact. The engine sounded normal to the witnesses throughout the flight. The owner/operator told NTSB investigators that the pilot had worked as a contract ag-pilot for 25 years and had accumulated over 23,000 hours flying time. Prior to becoming an ag-pilot he was a demonstration aerobatic pilot in the Swedish Air Force flying the AT-6 aircraft. Earlier in the morning of the accident the pilot had seeded a field for the operator and had then asked to fly the AT-6. -