Taylorcraft BC12-D accident near Wrightsville, Arkansas, February 27, 2004
On February 27, 2004, a Taylorcraft BC12-D, registered N43005, was destroyed in an accident near Wrightsville, Arkansas (Private airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed sufficient for flight resulting in an inadvertent stall/spin on the downwind leg of the traffic pattern.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 27, 2004
- Place
- Wrightsville, Arkansas · Private · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Taylorcraft BC12-D · all BC12-Ds on the register
- Registration
- N43005 · no longer on the register · serial 6664
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The 14,800-hour pilot and his pilot rated passenger were conducting touch-and-go landings on a private airstrip in the vintage airplane. After takeoff from the second touch-and-go landing, on the downwind leg of the traffic pattern, a witness located adjacent to the accident site observed the airplane in a "left wing low, nose down" attitude. The nearby witness observed the airplane briefly on left downwind. In the next "instant," he observed the airplane in a "left wing low, nose down" attitude at an altitude of about 70 feet AGL.. The witness also recalled hearing the engine "rev up" prior to losing sight of the airplane below a tree line. According to entries in the pilot's logbook, he had accumulated a total of 19.7-hours in the accident make/model airplane. Evidence at the accident site showed that the airplane impacted the ground in a left wing down, nose low attitude. On site examination of the airframe and the engine did not reveal any anomalies that could have contributed to the accident. Examination of the airframe and engine maintenance logbooks did not reveal any pre-existing anomalies.
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
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 14,734 hours in all; 14 in this make and model; 205 in the last 90 days; 57 in the last 30 days; 13,824 as pilot in command; 1,148 on instruments
- Last flight review: September 20, 2002
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: serious injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,362.7 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 1, 2003; 33.8 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,200 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental A65-8 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PVT Wrightsville AR at 9:25 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 270, 3,000 ft by 60 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 120° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 30.15 inHg
- Observation at 10:53 pm from LIT, 6 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.