Saturday, October 10, 2020

Pipistrel Alpha Trainer, N227PF: Accident occurred October 08, 2020 in Rural Hall, Forsyth County, North Carolina

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:
Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Charlotte, North Carolina 

Mount Ptisi LLC
Location: Rural Hall, NC 
Accident Number: ERA21LA014
Date & Time: October 8, 2020, 16:20 Local 
Registration: N227PF
Aircraft: Pipistrel Alpha Trainer
Injuries: 1 None
Flight Conducted Under:

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Make: Pipistrel 
Registration: N227PF
Model/Series: Alpha Trainer 
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Amateur Built: No
Operator: 
Operating Certificate(s)  Held: Pilot school (141)
Operator Designator Code:

Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Conditions at Accident Site: VMC
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: KINT,970 ft msl
Observation Time: 16:54 Local
Distance from Accident Site: 7 Nautical Miles
Temperature/Dew Point: 27°C /16°C
Lowest Cloud Condition: Clear 
Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction: / ,
Lowest Ceiling: None 
Visibility: 10 miles
Altimeter Setting: 30.06 inches Hg
Type of Flight Plan Filed:
Departure Point: Winston Salem, NC (INT) 
Destination: Rural Hall, NC

Wreckage and Impact Information

Crew Injuries: 1 None 
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: Aircraft
Fire: None
Ground Injuries: 
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 1 None 
Latitude, Longitude: 36.240195,-80.293202 (est)









STOKES COUNTY, North Carolina —  The North Carolina State Highway Patrol is investigating a plane crash Thursday on the edge of Stokes County.

Troopers said a small plane crashed into trees near Payne Road, which is just north of Rural Hall.

The pilot, who is an instructor at Piedmont Flight Training at Smith Reynolds Airport, is uninjured, according to troopers.

"The aircraft parachute deployed, the pilot is okay, and it was in a wooden field, so no one else was injured," said Tara Connell, the general manager at Piedmont Flight Training.

Connell went straight to the scene of the crash when she heard one of her pilots crashed.

Neighbors also witnessed the crash. Janet Griffin was the first person to talk to the pilot.

"That guy in a blue shirt walked out of the woods and I said, 'Did you just crash your plane?' And he said, 'Yeah,'" Griffin said. "This guy looked like he had been playing golf. He looked better than us."

She said she couldn’t believe how calm he was but was glad he is okay.

"I went and got him a bottle of water because I said 'Dude, you need a drink,'" Griffin said.

1 comment:

  1. Well,There is much more to this story. I hope an update will be posted soon.
    There is no left wing on the scene...per the flightaware track there was a blip of high airspeed then almost to zero. Would bet $10000 this is a botched aerobatic maneuver. He changed his story 3 times. A test pilot from Pipistrel
    had recently been to the flight school and I overheard one of the instructors saying he had demonstrated some aerobatics in the plane. I dont think Im going to
    fly here anymore. He pulled the wing off that plane....

    ReplyDelete