Amateur-built kit accident near Abbeville, Louisiana, August 5, 2009
On August 5, 2009 at about 2:30 pm local time, a amateur-built kit, registered UNK, was substantially damaged in an accident during enroute near Abbeville, Louisiana. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A total loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 5, 2009 · about 2:30 pm local time
- Place
- Abbeville, Louisiana · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built kit
- Registration
- UNK · no longer on the register · serial unknown
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The unregistered experimental, single-seat, amateur-built airplane crashed into an open field and came to rest inverted. The wood/fabric airplane had received extensive damage during the impact; it appeared that the airplane collided with terrain at a low speed and a high angle, and fuel was present on site. The private pilot received serious injuries during the crash. The pilot/owner had reportedly purchased the partly completed airplane approximately two years prior to the accident. The accident flight was the airplane's first flight. The pilot pre-flighted the airplane and then taxied up and down a private airstrip located near his residence. The pilot reported to a Federal Aviation Administration inspector that shortly after takeoff the airplane's engine began to "sputter." The pilot then attempted a forced landing to a nearby airstrip; however, the airplane stalled and impacted a field just short of the airstrip.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Loss of engine power (total) during enroute defining event
- Aerodynamic stall/spin during emergency descent
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during landing
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft power plant › Engine (reciprocating) › (general) › Not specified
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 0 hours in all; 1 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: sngl
- Injury: serious injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 508 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Kaplan LA
- Destination: Kaplan LA
- Flight plan: not recorded
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under UNK the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.