Primary finding
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed and his diverted attention which resulted in an inadvertent stall and inflight collision with the ground.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The airplane was on approach to and collided with the ground short of runway 28. According to the pilot, ' flew pattern normally on downwind and base. On final saw (a pitts special airplane) doing aerobatics by the runway. Lost sight of plane, made turns to find him. When i was 20 to 30 feet above ground, i saw him 200 feet away going straight down. I didn't know where he was going when he went below my line of sight. During distraction, i stalled the plane. Too low to recover.' the investigation revealed the aerobatic airplane was issued a waiver to conduct flight in the area.
Source record
Factual narrative
On Sunday, June 20, 1993, at 0930 eastern daylight time, a Luscombe 8A, N71155, owned and operated by William A. King, of LaGrange, Ohio, made a hard landing at Beach City, Ohio. The airplane received substantial damage and the occupants were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the flight operated under 14 CFR 91. In the NTSB Accident Report, the pilot stated: ...On final saw Pitts doing aerobatics by runway. Lost sight of plane. Made turns to find him. When I was 20-30 ft, above ground I saw him 200 feet away going straight down. I didn't know where he was going when he went below my line of sight. During distraction I stalled plane, too low to recover. According to Mr. George S. Ream, an operations inspector with the Cleveland Flight Standards District Office, the airport was the site of a fly-in breakfast and numerous airplane were arriving.The aerobatic pilot was operating in an approved area on a waiver issued by the Cleveland Flight Standards District Office. -