NTSB CAROL · Event
Event WPR12LA152
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot’s failure to maintain airplane control while maneuvering at low altitude shortly after takeoff.
Factual narrative
HISTORY OF FLIGHT
On April 3, 2012, about 0742 mountain standard time, a Nelson Rans S-12, N586BN, impacted terrain shortly after takeoff from Falcon Field Airport (FFZ)Mesa, Arizona. The commercial pilot and the passenger/owner were fatally injured. The airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to the passenger and operated by the pilot. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the local personal flight. Witnesses reported that shortly after the airplane took off, when it was about 200-300 feet above ground level, the airplane made a sudden right turn of about 90 degrees. Some witnesses reported that there was a reduction in engine power just prior to the right turn and an increase in engine power during the turn. Witnesses reported that while in the turn, the airplane appeared to stall and start to spin; one witness reported that it appeared as if the pilot started to regain control just prior to impacting terrain.
PERSONNEL INFORMATION
At the time of the accident, the pilot, age 23, held a commercial pilot certificate with airplane single- and multi- engine land and instrument ratings. His most recent certificate was issued on March 22, 2012. His most recent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) second-class medical certificate was issued on May 11, 2011 with the restriction that he must wear corrective lenses. The pilot had accumulated about 734 hours of flight experience, 121 of which were in the accident airplane. The pilot had been flying the accident airplane since July of 2010.
AIRCRAFT INFORMATION
The airplane was an amateur built experimental Nelson Rans S-12, serial number 119147, which was privately built in 2007. The airplane was equipped with a Rotax 912 ULS 100 horsepower engine in the pusher configuration. The airframe and engine maintenance logbooks were not located. During a postaccident telephone conversation, the builder of the airplane reported that when he built the airplane, the fuel system consisted of four fuel tanks, two outboard auxiliary fuel tanks and two inboard main fuel tanks. The fuel selector valve, which consisted of four positions: ‘main’, ‘aux’, ‘both’, ‘off’, was located between the pilot and passenger seats. The builder reported that with the configuration of the fuel system, it is possible that, if the fuel selector valve was in the ‘off’ position, the airplane would have enough residual fuel within the system to operate the airplane normally until about initial climb.
METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION
At 0747, the weather reporting station located at FFZ reported wind 030 degrees at 5 knots, 40 statute miles of visibility, clear skies, temperature 13 degrees Celsius (C), dewpoint -9 degrees C, and an altimeter setting of 29.98 inches of mercury. The accident airport elevation was 1,394 feet. Based on the recorded weather data, the corresponding density altitude was about 1,432 feet. According to the FAA carburetor icing probability chart, with the recorded temperature and dew point, the airplane was unlikely to experience carburetor icing at climb, cruise, and glide power.
WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION
An on-scene examination conducted by representatives from the FAA revealed that the airplane impacted the ground in a nose low attitude and started to burn. All three propeller blades were still attached at the hub, however, the blades were separated about 6 inches outboard of the hub. One of the propeller blades was located in an earthen wall located next to the main wreckage, and two of the blades were found about 250 feet from the main wreckage. All main components of the airplane were present, and control continuity was established throughout. The parachute was deployed, but resting unopened directly behind the main wreckage. The parachute T-handle was located and the pin to secure the handle was still in place. The end of the cable from the T-handle to the igniter was broomstrawed. The smell of automotive gasoline was noted underneath the airplane, most notably underneath the carburetors; fuel was found in one of the carburetor bowls. The fuel selector valve was unable to be positively identified. The engine was rotated by hand and rotated through all four compression strokes; during the rotation, the engine felt “gritty” on the inside.
MEDICAL AND PATHALOGICAL INFORMATION
The Maricopa County Medical Examiner completed autopsies on the pilot and passenger; cause of death was reported as blunt force injuries. The FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) conducted forensic toxicology examinations on specimens from the pilot, and reported that no ethanol or any screened drugs were detected. Testing for carbon monoxide and cyanide were not completed.
TESTS AND RESEARCH
During a postaccident examination of the airframe and engine, control continuity was established throughout. The flap handle was identified loose within the wreckage; the flap position was unable to be determined. The fuel selector valve was not found. The instrument panel sustained impact and fire damage; the turn coordinator showed a turn to the right. The engine was examined and the exhaust system was mounted on top of the engine close to a fuel line, fuel system transducer, coolant, and ignition systems. Fire damage was noted to the magneto side (forward side, opposite of the propeller) of the engine. The top spark plugs were removed and identified as having appropriate gapping determined by the engine manufacturer. The valve covers were removed and oil was present within the system. The engine was rotated via the propeller; all valves produced the same amount of lift and thumb compression was obtained on all cylinders. The engine was borescoped and no anomalies were noted. The water pump and oil pump were removed and no anomalies were noted. The fuel pump was removed and functioned normally when activated by hand, no fuel was present. There was no evidence of preimpact anomalies that would have resulted in a loss of engine power. Due to damage, continuity of the fuel and ignition systems could not be ascertained. Witnesses reported that shortly after takeoff, the airplane was about 200 to 300 feet above the ground when it made a sudden right turn and banked about 90 degrees. Some witnesses reported that they heard a reduction in engine power just before the right turn followed by an increase in engine power. During the turn, the airplane appeared to stall and enter a spin. The airplane impacted terrain and a fire ensued. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).
- — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-(general)-Not attained/maintained
- C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2012_WPR12LA152.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (icing, stall, maintenance). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2023 · Faculty research project
Reconfigurable Guidance and Control Systems for Emerging On-Orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (OSAM) Space Vehicles
Dynamic response to emergent situations is a necessity in the on-orbit servicing, assembly, and manufacturing (OSAM) field, because traditional on-orbit guidance and control (G&C) cannot respond effic…
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Variation of Critical Crystallization Pressure for the Formation of Square Ice in Graphene Nanocapillaries
Two-dimensional square ice in graphene nanocapillaries at room temperature is a fascinating phenomenon and has been confirmed experimentally.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2023 · Conference paper
The Value of Strong Partnerships to Build a Successful Aviation Maintenance Career Pathway Program for Transitioning Military Service Members
The aerospace industry is competing with other industries for a qualified workforce, and many of those competing industries are investing heavily in creating workforce development pipelines.
- arXiv 2022 · arXiv preprint
Enhanced Prediction of Three-dimensional Finite Iced Wing Separated Flow Near Stall
Icing on three-dimensional wings causes severe flow separation near stall. Standard improved delayed detached eddy simulation (IDDES) is unable to correctly predict the separating reattaching flow due…
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Contractor Report (CR)
An Evaluation of an Analytical Simulation of an Airplane with Tailplane Icing by Comparison to Flight Data
This report presents the assessment of an analytical tool developed as part of the NASA/FAA Tailplane Icing Program. The analytical tool is a specialized simulation program called TAILSM4 which was de…
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Technical Publication (TP)
NASA/FAA Tailplane Icing Program: Flight Test Report
This report presents results from research flights that explored the characteristics of an ice-contaminated tailplane using various simulated ice shapes attached to the leading edge of the horizontal …
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