Witnesses Say Plane Made Sharp Left Turn Into Ground

The National Transportation Safety Board has released a preliminary report giving details known at this time concerning the downing of a Lancair Legacy earlier this month near Parowan, UT.

Certain aspects of the report raise more questions than they answer, however.

The NTSB report said, "On October 18, 2008, about 1400 mountain daylight time, N151HT, a Heisler Lancair Legacy (shown below), collided with terrain shortly after takeoff from the Parowan Airport, Parowan, Utah.

"The airline transport pilot was killed and the passenger sustained serious injuries. The airplane was substantially damaged. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed.

"Witnesses reported that the airplane departed from runway 04 and climbed to an estimated 400 to 500 feet above ground level. The witnesses said that initially they thought that the airplane was a cropduster because it remained at such a low altitude.

"The airplane then entered a left turn and witnesses saw objects fall, '...off of or out of the airplane.' The airplane continued in a left turn and lost altitude until the left wing tip impacted the ground and the witnesses saw a cloud of dust at the area of impact."

Initially responding to the accident site, law enforcement personnel were also directed to the area where witnesses saw objects leave the plane, where they found clothing and other personal effects.

Also responding to the crash site, an inspector from the Salt Lake City, Utah, Federal Aviation Administration Flight Standards District Office surveyed the debris field, which measured approximately 200 feet in length across flat terrain.

"The first identified point of impact contained green lens fragments and the main wreckage came to rest facing northeast," the report said. "One propeller blade had separated from the propeller assembly and was identified in the debris field."

According to initial information, the wind conditions reported at nearby Cedar City were consistent with winds in the Parowan area at the time of the accident. The 1353 METAR reported conditions at Cedar City as: wind, 170 degrees at 10 knots and gusting to 21 knots; visibility, 10 statute miles; sky condition, clear; temperature, 73 degrees Fahrenheit; dew point, 19 degrees Fahrenheit; altimeter, 30.21 inHg.

Law enforcement personnel said the pilot owned a cabin in the Parowan area, and rented a hangar at the Parowan Airport. At the time of the accident, he was returning to his home base at North Las Vegas Airport in Nevada.

Unusual details in the report range from the downwind takeoff, to the mention of personal items dropping from the plane, to the color of the lens fragments recovered at the point of impact. If indeed the left wingtip hit the ground first, one would expect the lens fragments found at that point to be red, instead of green.

As ANN reported, the accident claimed the life of William Phillips, 53. His wife, Janice, was seriously injured.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov