Amateur-built TUKAN accident near Hayesville, North Carolina, November 11, 2000
On November 11, 2000 at about 9:30 pm local time, a amateur-built TUKAN, registered UNREG, was destroyed in an accident near Hayesville, North Carolina. 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
The ultralight pilot's in-flight loss of control for unknown reasons resulting in an in-flight collision with the terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 11, 2000 · about 9:30 pm local time
- Place
- Hayesville, North Carolina · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built TUKAN
- Registration
- UNREG · no longer on the register
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
No witnesses saw the ultralight depart the grass field, nor did anyone witness the crash. A heavy equipment operator saw the ultralight taxi, thought it was too windy to fly, and didn't think any more about the craft until he saw the wreckage over a fence, and called 911. Examination of the wreckage by the sheriff department investigator and the airstrip owner revealed the 'trike', movable wing configured ultralight sustained no obvious mechanical failures of the structure, rigging, or engine. The airstrip owner and a USUA instructor stated that the pilot had sustained numerous landing crashes since purchasing the ultralight. The accident flight was the first attempt by the pilot to fly with sandbag ballast in the rear seat and a runway crosswind condition.
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
- Medical certificate: None
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 500 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded, March 30, 2000; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 254 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 447 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 060° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:53 pm from TYS, 46 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.
Other NTSB records under UNREG 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.