Amateur-built SONERAI 1 accident near Scottsburg, Indiana, August 26, 1997
On August 26, 1997 at about 10:45 pm local time, a amateur-built SONERAI 1, registered N76457, was destroyed in an accident near Scottsburg, Indiana. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
a loss of engine power for undetermined reasons, and the student pilot's failure to maintain airspeed greater than the stalling speed for the airplane. A factor relating to this accident was the student pilot's lack of total experience.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 26, 1997 · about 10:45 pm local time
- Place
- Scottsburg, Indiana · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built SONERAI 1
- Registration
- N76457 · no longer on the register · serial 9745
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A witness on the airport saw the student pilot takeoff to the south and perform a normal climbout. The witness said that the pilot was a 'stickler for following the rules' and felt that the pilot turned eastbound to enter the traffic pattern. Another witness who was near the accident site said she 'heard the airplane's engine cut out.' The witness said that when she looked south toward where she heard the sound, she 'saw the airplane come straight down.' The student pilot had approximately 9.0 hours total flying time in the airplane. All 9.0 hours was as pilot-in-command. The student pilot had accumulated approximately 200 to 300 hours in ultralights. Examination of the airplane's engine revealed an 'unusually large amount of carbon in the cylinders. The carbon was dry - a type associated with too rich of a fuel mixture.' No other anomalies were found with the airplane.
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
Pilot
- Flight time: 9 hours in all; 9 in this make and model; 9 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 13, 1996; 10 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 734 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Volkswagen TYPE 3 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: IN46 IN at 10:40 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 230° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 4,800 ft
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:56 pm from SDF, 30 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.
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.