14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Wednesday, July 20, 2011 in Dewees Island, SC
Probable Cause Approval Date: 11/07/2012
Aircraft: Polaris Polar Star, registration: None
Injuries: 2 Fatal.
NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
Witnesses observed the non-certificated pilot perform a loop and start to perform another. As the weight-shift-control aircraft was at the top of the second loop, inverted, at an estimated altitude of 1,000 feet above the water, the wing folded. The aircraft dropped straight down into shallow water. Although the aircraft, which consisted of a fabric-covered wing attached to an inflatable boat, met the definition of a light sport aircraft and should have been registered with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), it was not registered. The aircraft was not certificated to perform aerobatic maneuvers. Toxicology testing on the pilot’s blood was positive for .069 g/dL ethanol. FAA regulations prohibit operation of an aircraft with blood alcohol levels above .040 g/dL.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The non-certificated pilot’s operation of the unregistered airplane while impaired by alcohol. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s performance of aerobatic maneuvers that exceeded the structural limits of the aircraft, which resulted in failure of the wing due to overload.
HISTORY OF FLIGHT
On July 20, 2011, about 1815 eastern daylight time, an unregistered, experimental Polaris Polar Star flying boat incurred substantial damage when it crashed into the water near Dewees Island, South Carolina. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flying boat was owned and operated by the non-certificated pilot, under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91, as a local personal flight. The pilot and the passenger were killed. The flight originated earlier that day, at an unspecified time and location.
Witnesses to the accident gave statements to the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office representative. They stated that they observed the flying boat complete an aero-loop and started to perform another loop. When the flying boat was at the top of the loop, inverted, at an estimated altitude of 1,000 feet above the water, the wing folded. The flying boat dropped straight down into shallow water. Moments later sea vessels approached the wreckage to aid the two on board; one was trapped in the wreckage and the other was located floating in the water.
PERSONNEL INFORMATION
A review of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) data base revealed the pilot did not hold a pilot certificate. The pilot required, at minimal, a sport pilot license to operate the flying boat.
AIRCRAFT INFORMATION
The Polaris Polar Star is described as a two place, tandem design, weight-shift-control trike, of fabric and aluminum tubing construction, attached to an inflatable dingy boat, and power by a 64 horsepower Rotax, 582, engine. The flying boat’s specification required it to have a registration number issued by the FAA when operated.
METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION
The closest official weather observation was at Charleston Air Force Base /International Airport (CHS), Charleston, South Carolina, about 20 miles west of the accident site. The CHS 1756 METAR, was wind from 210 degrees at 11 knots gusting to 16 knots; visibility, 10 statute miles; few clouds at 2,500; temperature 35 degrees Celsius (C); dew point minus 21 degrees C; altimeter 29.84 inches of mercury.
WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION
Examination of the aircraft wreckage by an FAA Inspector showed no evidence of pre-accident malfunction. Examination of the wing showed it failed due to overstress.
MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION
The Medical University of South Carolina, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Charleston, South Carolina, conducted a postmortem examination of the pilot and passenger. The cause of death for both was blunt force trauma.
The FAA Civil Aeromedical Institute (CAMI) conducted toxicology testing on specimens from the pilot. The tests were negative for carbon monoxide, cyanide, and drugs. The test were positive for 0.069 g/dL ethanol in blood, 0.074 g/dL ethanol in vitreous fluid, and 0.074 g/dL ethanol in urine.
TEST AND RESEARCH
FAR Section 91.17 (a) prohibits any person from acting or attempting to act as a crewmember of a civil aircraft while having 0.040 g/dL (40.0 mg/dL) or more alcohol in the blood. Adverse clinical symptoms have been noted with blood ethanol levels as low as 20.0 mg/dL (0.020 g/dL.
Carly Donohue
Lucas Smith
July 22, 2011
Photo by Norman Stewart
Lucas Smith and Carly Donohue are seen in the ultra light flying dinghy hours before the craft crashed near Dewees Island killing both Smith and Donohue.
July 21, 2011
Provided
Carly Donohue used this photo and herself and Lucas Smith as her profile photo on her Facebook page.
This is one of the last videos of both Lucas and Carly just days before their tragic accident.
The National Transportation Safety Board has now released the preliminary report for the fatal flying boat crash in Dewees Island.
According to the report, witnesses to the July 20th accident, say they saw the flying boat perform an aero – loop and crash while attempting a second loop. When the flying boat was at the top of the loop, an estimated 1, 000 feet, the report says it inverted and its wing folded. The flying boat then dropped straight down into shallow water.
Moments later sea vessels came to help and found one person trapped in the wreckage and the second floating in the water.
Both 40-year-old Lucus Smith and 27-year-old Cara Donohue died in the crash.
NTSB investigators also say weather may have played a part in the crash.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says Smith did not hold a FAA pilot license needed to operate the experimental Polaris Polar Star flying boat.
Source: http://www2.counton2.com
Report: Flying craft was doing flips before fatal crash
A winged inflatable boat was doing aerial loops before it crashed into the water off Dewees Island last month, killing the occupants, investigators found.
The National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report this week detailing the accident that killed Lucas Smith, 40, and Cara Lee Donohue, 27, on July 20.
The NTSB said that the unregistered, experimental Polaris Polar Star — a rubber raft connected to an engine and a parasail — was badly damaged from hitting the water.
According to the report, witnesses to the accident told the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office that they observed the flying boat “perform an aero-loop and started to perform another loop.”
When the flying boat was at the top of the loop, it flipped over at about 1,000 feet above the water, and the wing folded.
“The flying boat dropped straight down into the shallow water,” the report said.
Within a few minutes, boats approached the wreckage to attempt a rescue. One person was trapped in the wreckage and the other was found floating in the water. They received CPR as they were being brought to the dock at the Isle of Palms Marina, but were too badly injured to survive and were pronounced dead when they arrived.
The accident hit the boating community hard.
Smith was a local yachtsman, and Donohue his first mate. The popular Mount Pleasant residents worked together on Smith’s charter boat, the Osprey. He also operated a dry cleaners.
Friends and family described the pair as adventurous.
Smith’s father told the The Post and Courier that his son was a skilled ultralight pilot who had flown the craft for many years. The craft was purchased in Florida from an owner who gave his son instruction in how to fly it, said Ellison Smith.
“Lucas was always a risk-taker,” he said. “He liked being on the edge of stuff.”
The responding Federal Aviation Administration inspector said the aircraft should have been registered with the agency and subject to inspections, but was not.
The report also noted that Smith did not hold an FAA pilot license. The pilot was required, at least, to have a sport pilot license to operate the flying boat.
