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Atlas / NTSB / ATL85FA197

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event ATL85FA197

1985-06-28 CHARLOTTE, North Carolina, United States Airport · CLT Fatal 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N542TW

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

RANS S-7S COURIER

Year of manufacture

2021

Engine

ROTAX 912ULS SERIES (100 hp)

Seats / Engines

2 seats · 1 engine

Last airworthiness date

20210506

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S A6E118

Registrant of record

TRANQUILLA DAVID MICHAEL

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH A TREE AND A POLE SHORT OF THE RWY DURING A NIGHT VFR APPROACH TO LAND. THE PLT CHANGED FROM RWY 18 TO 36 DURING THE APPROACH. HE WAS SEEN LOW & FAST ON DWNWIND WHICH ENDED IN A STEEP DESCENDING TURN TO GROUND CONTACT. THE TWR HAD OVERIED THE PLT DURING THE INITIAL APPROACH BECAUSE OF HIS SPEED AND HIGH ALTITUDE. THE PLT REPLIED THAT HE WOULD BE DOWN AND REQUESTED A CHANGE OF RWY. THE WIND WAS REPORTED AS FROM 150 DEGREES AT 7 KTS. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1985_ATL85FA197.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.