Amateur-built Sonerai IILT accident near Williams, Arizona, August 18, 2006
On August 18, 2006 at about 11:55 pm local time, a amateur-built Sonerai IILT, registered N90420, suffered minor damage in an accident near Williams, Arizona (H.A. Clark Memorial Field Airp). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's inadequate compensation for the wind conditions and failure to maintain directional control.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 18, 2006 · about 11:55 pm local time
- Place
- Williams, Arizona · H.A. Clark Memorial Field Airp · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Sonerai IILT
- Registration
- N90420 · no longer on the register · serial 01606LT
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane veered off the runway during the takeoff ground roll and collided with a bystander, who was fatally injured. The pilot was conducting his first flight in the airplane. About 1,000 feet down the runway, at 40 miles per hour, the airplane was struck by a gust of wind that pushed it to the left of the runway. The pilot said that while correcting back to the runway, he overcorrected, and the airplane began to depart the right side of the runway. The pilot said he was unable to regain control prior to departing the runway surface. The pilot stated that there were no mechanical problems 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
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,500 hours in all; 50 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days; 2,311 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: July 1, 2006
- Medical certificate: Class 2
- Seat: rear
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 450 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, August 1, 2006
- Maximum gross weight: 11,055 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Revmaster R2100 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CMR Williams AZ at 10:55 pm
- Destination: CMR Williams AZ
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 36, 5,992 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 90,000 ft
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 37°F (3°C)
- Altimeter: 30.29 inHg
- Observation at 11:56 pm from FLG, 28 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.