Wolf Point, MT, USA
UNREG
APCO Powered Parachute
A family member said the pilot had previously mentioned to her that there was a way to make the airplane turn quicker by pulling harder on some of the cables that control the parachute. On the flight prior to the accident she didn't feel comfortable with some of the turns the pilot was making and wanted him to land. While watching the next flight, estimated to be 500 feet above the ground, she observed the aircraft make some tight turns and lose altitude before impacting the ground and erupt into flames. An instructor pilot, who had only given the pilot ground instruction on how to fly the aircraft, had previously advised the pilot that he needed more instruction before he would be able to fly the airplane. The instructor subsequently discovered that the pilot had been flying the plane since he first purchased it. The instructor again advised the pilot that he needed to get additional instruction and the pilot agreed; however, this never happened. Shortly after the accident occurred a family member told the instructor that the pilot had given her a ride and was making sharp turns with the airplane, which she felt was the cause of the accident. The instructor said that pulling in too much steering line can collapse the side of the parachute the line is on. The instructor believed the pilot was unable to re-inflate the parachute before impacting the ground after the steering lines became entangled.
On June 28, 2004, approximately 2030 mountain daylight time, an unregistered single-engine APCO airplane was destroyed following a loss of control while maneuvering near Wolf Point, Montana. The non-certificated pilot and his sole passenger were fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight, which was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated from a private airstrip south of Wolf Point at approximately 2010. In a telephone interview with the NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC), a family member who had just been given a ride prior to the accident flight reported that the pilot made some turns that she didn't feel comfortable with. She further stated that she "vaguely remembered" the pilot relating to her previously that there was a way to make the aircraft "turn quicker" if he "pulled harder on some of the cables that control the parachute." The family member reported that while watching the next flight, which she estimated to be 500 feet above ground level, the aircraft began some tight turns and losing altitude before impacting the ground. Fire erupted and the aircraft was consumed. In an written statement provided to the IIC, a flight instructor who was qualified to give instruction in the aircraft reported that he met with the pilot in November of 2003, "...to look at the aircraft and give him some basic [ground] instruction on how to fly the powered parachute." The instructor stated that he told the pilot that he needed more instruction before he would be able to fly the aircraft. The instructor further stated that some time in December of 2003, the pilot called him asking where he could buy a propeller, as he had rolled the plane and broken it. The instructor reported that the next time he saw the pilot he learned that he had been flying the plane since he had taken it home the previous November. The instructor stated that he again advised the pilot that he needed to get additional instruction, and that [the pilot] agreed. The instructor related, "He agreed and left. I talked to him several times during the winter to get more instruction, but it never happened." The instructor reported that the day after the accident a family member called and informed him that the pilot had given her a ride and was turning real sharp before the accident flight. The instructor reported that when you pull in too much steering line you collapse the side of the [parachute] the line is on. An autopsy and toxicology testing of the pilot were not conducted due to insufficient samples.
The pilot's loss of control as a result of trying a low altitude quick turning maneuver. A factor was the pilot's lack of experience in the aircraft.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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