Investigator In Charge (IIC): Hicks, Ralph
The National Transportation Safety Board traveled to the scene of this accident.
Additional Participating Entities:
Mark R. Lee; Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Minneapolis, Minnesota
Lycoming Engines; Williamsport, Pennsylvania
Location: Bay City, Wisconsin
Accident Number: ERA22FA399
Date and Time: September 6, 2022, 13:25 Local
Registration: N11HC
Aircraft: CONWAY PHILIP J Glasair Super II SFT
Injuries: 2 Fatal
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Instructional
On September 6, 2022, at 1325 central daylight time, an experimental, amateur-built Glasair Super II SFT airplane, N11HC, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident in Bay City, Wisconsin. The flight instructor and a commercial pilot-under-instruction were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight.
The flight departed from Rochester Regional Airport (RST), Rochester, Minnesota about 1218. Following some air work, the flight proceeded to Red Wing Airport (RGK), Bay City, Wisconsin and entered left traffic for the visual airport traffic pattern to runway 9. According to Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) data, three circuits of the traffic pattern were flown (it is not known if the airplane landed during the approaches) and a fourth traffic pattern was initiated. The ADS-B data indicated that the airplane turned onto the base leg of the airport traffic pattern about 1 mile sooner than on the previous approaches. A witness reported that the airplane, while on base leg, banked sharply to the left and pointed nose down before it crashed. The airplane impacted the ground about 1/3 nautical mile west-northwest of runway 9.
An examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane impacted terrain on a heading of about 045° and the main wreckage came to rest about 80 ft from the point of initial impact. There was no fire. All structural components of the airplane were located within the confines of the wreckage path. Both wing fuel tanks and a header tank were breached during the impact, and no fuel remained inside the tanks. The owner reported that he filled the tanks to their 50-gallon capacity before the flight.
The owner, who was the airplane builder, reported that the purpose of the flight was build time requirements for insurance purposes so that he could include the commercial pilot on his policy. This was the first flight to satisfy those requirements and the two accident pilots had not flown together previously. The flight instructor flew with the owner on September 1, 2022, and the owner stated that the flight instructor performed all tasks satisfactorily, including air work, stalls, patterns, and landings. Other than the 2-hour flight on September 1, the flight instructor had no previous experience in the Glasair. The commercial pilot had flown with the owner as a passenger; however, he had no logged time in the Glasair.
The airplane was equipped with a Garmin G3X glass cockpit navigation system. The non-volatile memory card from the flight display recorded data from the entire accident flight, including engine and systems performance. The memory card was retained for further investigation.
Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information
Aircraft Make: CONWAY PHILIP J
Registration: N11HC
Model/Series: Glasair Super II SFT
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Amateur Built: Yes
Operator: On file
Operating Certificate(s) Held: None
Operator Designator Code:
Meteorological Information and Flight Plan
Conditions at Accident Site: VMC
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: KRGK,780 ft msl
Observation Time: 01:35 Local
Distance from Accident Site: 1 Nautical Miles
Temperature/Dew Point: 12°C /11°C
Lowest Cloud Condition: Clear
Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction: / ,
Lowest Ceiling: None
Visibility: 10 miles
Altimeter Setting: 30.1 inches Hg
Type of Flight Plan Filed:
Departure Point: Rochester, MN (RST)
Destination: Bay City, WI
Wreckage and Impact Information
Crew Injuries: 2 Fatal
Aircraft Damage: Destroyed
Passenger Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 2 Fatal
Latitude, Longitude: 44.59111,-92.50083 (est)
Aircraft crashed under unknown circumstances.
Date: 06-SEP-22
Time: 18:24:00Z
Regis#: N11HC
Aircraft Make: GLASAIR
Aircraft Model: SUPER II SFT
Event Type: ACCIDENT
Highest Injury: FATAL
Total Fatal: 2
Flight Crew: 1 Fatal
Pax: 1 Fatal
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: SUBSTANTIAL
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: UNKNOWN (UNK)
Operation: 91
City: RED WING
State: MINNESOTA
Those who may have information that might be relevant to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation may contact them by email witness@ntsb.gov, and any friends and family who want to contact investigators about the accident should email assistance@ntsb.gov. You can also call the NTSB Response Operations Center at 844-373-9922 or 202-314-6290.
Ethan Smith
Pierce County, Wisconsin, authorities have identified the two people killed in Tuesday's plane crash outside Red Wing Regional Airport.
According to a press release from the Pierce County Sheriff's Office, 28-year-old John Zeman and 20-year-old Ethan Smith, both of Rochester, died in the crash Tuesday, September 6, 2022.
The Stoddard-Hamilton Glasair Super II-S FT left Rochester International Airport at 12:20 p.m. Tuesday for a training flight, with a planned destination of Red Wing Regional Airport.
Around 1:40 p.m. Tuesday, local authorities were called to the scene of the crash in a field along Highway 35 roughly half of a mile west of the airport.
The National Transportation Safety Board is continuing its investigation of the crash, which is expected to take several months to complete.
Ethan Smith
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