Wednesday, September 16, 2020

American Champion 8KCAB Decathlon, N83DH: Fatal accident occurred September 13, 2020 near Groton Municipal Airport (2E6), Brown County, South Dakota

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. 

The National Transportation Safety Board did not travel to the scene of this accident. 

Additional Participating Entity: 
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Rapid City, South Dakota


Location: Groton, SD
Accident Number: CEN20LA389
Date & Time: 09/13/2020, 1100 CDT
Registration: N83DH
Aircraft: Champion 8KCAB
Injuries: 2 Fatal
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General Aviation - Personal 

On September 13, 2020, about 1100 central daylight time (CDT), an American Champion 8KCAB, N83DH, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Groton, South Dakota. The commercial pilot and passenger sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 personal flight.

According to a witness, after takeoff, the airplane accelerated down the runway in ground effect before the nose pitched up to an estimated 45° angle. The airplane then rolled right and inverted and exited the roll maneuver in a nose-low attitude prior to impact with the ground. One witness estimated the roll was initiated between 75 and 100 ft above ground level. Two witnesses reported that the maneuver appeared intentional due to the rapid roll rate. Of the three witnesses interviewed, all stated that they did not know of any planned aerobatic maneuvers for the flight. The flight was part of a group of pilots attempting to raise money to help youth gain interest in aviation.

A family member stated that the pilot routinely performed low-level aerobatics in the accident airplane.

The airplane came to rest about 200 yards south of runway 15 at Groton Municipal Airport (2E6). The airplane impacted in an upright, nose low attitude before it came to rest inverted. Both wings, the fuselage, and tail all sustained substantial damage in the impact.

A detailed wreckage examination is pending. 

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Make: Champion
Registration: N83DH
Model/Series: 8KCAB No Series
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Amateur Built: No
Operator: On file
Operating Certificate(s) Held: None

Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Conditions at Accident Site: Visual Conditions
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: KABR, 1300 ft msl
Observation Time: 1053 CDT
Distance from Accident Site: 14 Nautical Miles
Temperature/Dew Point: 17°C / 13°C
Lowest Cloud Condition: Clear
Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction: 6 knots / , 170°
Lowest Ceiling:None 
Visibility:  10 Miles
Altimeter Setting: 30.06 inches Hg
Type of Flight Plan Filed: None
Departure Point: Groton, SD (2E6)
Destination: Groton, SD (2E6)

Wreckage and Impact Information

Crew Injuries: 1 Fatal
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: 1 Fatal
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 2 Fatal
Latitude, Longitude: 45.528611, -98.093056 (est)

Those who may have information that might be relevant to the National Transportation Safety Board investigation may contact them by email eyewitnessreport@ntsb.gov, and any friends and family who want to contact investigators about the accident should email assistance@ntsb.gov. 
Tina Hansen
December 26th, 1964 - September 13th, 2020

Tina Hansen, age 55, of rural Garden City, died tragically on Sunday, September 13, 2020, along with her husband, Doug Hansen, in a plane accident in Brown County near Groton, SD.


Memorials in their memory will be appreciated in lieu of flowers.


Visitation Services will be held from 8:30-11:00AM on Saturday, September 26, 2020, at the Clark County Airport. Funeral Services will follow, beginning at 11:00AM with Reverend Mark Tracy officiating. Interment will be held at a later date.  
Funeral arrangements are with by the Furness Funeral Home at Clark where there is an online registry at www.furnessfuneralhome.com

Doug Hansen
November 17th, 1955 - September 13th, 2020

Doug Hansen, age 64, of rural Garden City, died tragically on Sunday, September 13, 2020, along with his wife Tina (Karber) Hansen, in a plane accident in Brown County near Groton, SD.


Memorials in their memory will be appreciated in lieu of flowers.


Visitation Services will be held from 8:30-11:00AM on Saturday, September 26, 2020, at the Clark County Airport. Funeral Services will follow, beginning at 11:00AM with Reverend Mark Tracy officiating. Interment will be held at a later date.  
Funeral arrangements are with by the Furness Funeral Home at Clark where there is an online registry at www.furnessfuneralhome.com

GROTON, S.D.  - Sunday’s crash marked an abrupt end to a weekend of activity at the Groton airport and emotions are still running high, with the deaths of a married couple from Clark as they tried to take off.

Darrell Hillestad knew Doug and Tina Hanson as those who shared an interest in aviation with him, and Doug and Darrell had both worked in the industry for many years. Which made it hard for Hillestad to process Sunday’s events.

“Doug was a friend of mine, and it hit me in a very hard spot.”

The couple had stopped by the city airport for a fly-in breakfast that Hillestad had helped host.

“Made it a little fly-in breakfast, and wanted to give the kids a good experience out here. To introduce them to aviation I guess, basically,” said Hillestad.

But as the group began to leave the airport to go on a poker run in the area, the Hanson’s had trouble taking off.

“Well, I was flying and, I had seen Doug take off, and end up crashing,” said Hillestad.

Their single-engine American Champion aircraft had crashed just after takeoff. The plane hit the ground and flipped over on it’s back. However exact details of how and why the aircraft crashed is still under investigation. Despite this, Hillestad said he hopes people know that flying is a safe activity.

“It’s like driving a car or walking across the street, or riding a motorcycle or whatever. I mean, it’s sad when things happen and aviation is a very safe industry. I want to clarify that. It is very safe. Accidents do happen. It’s very sad when it does, it draws a lot of attention when it does.”

An investigation into the crash is ongoing. Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration will be out to the crash site in the coming days. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, it’s the third fatal plane crash this year in South Dakota

According to their obituaries, funeral arrangements are still being made for Doug and Tina Hanson. Announcements will be made by Furness Funeral Home in Clark.


A married couple from Clark died in a Sunday morning plane crash near Groton.

Doug Hansen, 64, and Tina Hansen, 55, were killed in the crash.

Grant Rix was attending the Groton Fly-in/Drive-In with his family Sunday and said he witnessed the crash.

“We were walking our kids to the vehicle to leave, and the plane had already taken off and was just kind of going along the runway at about 10 feet off the ground or something like that, trying to gain airspeed,” Rix said.

At first, he said, he thought the airplane was performing a barrel roll, so he pointed it out to his kids.

“All of a sudden it looked like the airplane didn’t have much altitude, and then it hit the ground with the wheels down then flipped over onto its backside,” Rix said.

That was around 11 a.m. at the Groton Municipal Airport.

One victim died on the scene, and the other was transported to Avera St. Luke's Hospital, where they were pronounced dead, according to the Brown County Coroner Michael Carlsen.

The plane was a American Champion 8KCAB Decathlon, according to information from the Federal Aviation Administration. It was registered to Doug Hansen.

The plane crashed under unknown circumstances near the runway, also according to Federal Aviation Administration information.

In a tweet, the National Transportation Safety Board announced that the crash is under investigation, however, the agency was not present at the scene. The Federal Aviation Administration is also investigating the incident.

Sunday's was the third fatal airplane crash in South Dakota this year, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. An man died in a plane crash at the Sioux Falls airport in June, and another person died in a plane crash northwest of Parkston in July.

https://www.argusleader.com

4 comments:

  1. Sept 13 meteorological information for GROTON, SD Elev 1295 ft, 45.45 °N, 98.10 °W
    GDI - KSDGROTO1
    Time Temperature Dew Point Wind Speed Gust Pressure
    3:45 PM 65.5 F 55.0 F N 11.0 mph 16.0 mph 30.09
    4:00 PM 65.3 F 54.0 F ENE 4.0 mph 15.0 mph 30.10
    4:15 PM 65.4 F 54.0 F NNE 11.0 mph 18.0 mph 30.10

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    1. correction
      Time Temp Dew Point Wind Speed Gust Pressure
      10:45 AM 61.9 F 57.0 F S 3.0 mph 8.0 mph 30.02 in
      11:00 AM 63.1 F 58.0 F SSW 3.0 mph 6.0 mph 30.03 in
      11:15 AM 64.1 F 58.0 F SSW 3.0 mph 7.0 mph 30.02 in

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  2. FAA Identifier: 2E6 5 miles N of GROTON, SD
    Runway 15/33
    Dimensions: 2070 x 140 ft. / 631 x 43 m
    Surface: turf, in good condition

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  3. NTSB preliminary report describes a roll after takeoff.

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