Badwater Bill

NTSB Preliminary is out:
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NTSB Identification: WPR09LA016
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, October 18, 2008 in Parowan, UT
Aircraft: Heisler Lancair Legacy, registration: N151HT
Injuries: 1 Fatal, 1 Serious.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any
errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been
completed.

On October 18, 2008, about 1400 mountain daylight time, N151HT, a Heisler
Lancair Legacy, collided with terrain shortly after takeoff from the Parowan
Airport, Parowan, Utah. The pilot was operating the airplane under the
provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. 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.

According to law enforcement personnel, 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 North Las Vegas Airport, Las Vegas, Nevada, where the airplane
was based.

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.

Law enforcement personnel that initially responded to the accident site went to
the area specified by the witnesses as the location where the objects departed
the airplane. At this location, personal effects including clothing were
identified.

An inspector from the Salt Lake City, Utah, Federal Aviation Administration
Flight Standards District Office, responded to the accident scene. The debris
field was approximately 200 feet in length on flat terrain. The first identified
point of impact contained green lens fragments and the main wreckage came to
rest facing northeast. One propeller blade had separated from the propeller
assembly and was identified in the debris field.

At 1353, an aviation routine weather report (METAR) at Cedar City Regional
Airport, Cedar City, Utah, located approximately 17 nautical miles southwest of
the accident site, was reporting, in part: 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. According to initial responders, the wind conditions reported at
Cedar City were consistent with winds in the Parowan area at the time of the
accident.
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Ron Wanttaja