CENTERBURG — An aircraft accident on July 14, 2009, at Chapman Field was the result of pilot error, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
In its report, the NTSB said Lawrence Eberst, 54, of Delaware, died after his weight-shift controlled aircraft crashed about 150 feet north of the runway, just three minutes after takeoff.
“The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate airspeed resulting in an aerodynamic stall,” was the probable cause of the accident, the NTSB report stated.
The last conditional maintenance inspection of the aircraft was reported on Dec. 15, 2006. According to the NTSB, a review of the operating limits for the craft states operation of the craft is permissible only with a conditional inspection performed within the last 12 months. An inspection was started on June 1, 2008, but not completed, and lacked a signature.
The aircraft was an Antares MA-33 manufactured in 2003.
Inspection of the crashed plane revealed the following abnormalities: an oil pump lever was plastic-tie wrapped in the two o’clock position with no cable; exhaust had two bolts per side with two missing; a bungee cord was wrapped around the foot throttle keeping it in “the maximum power setting.”
Eberst was the head boys basketball coach for the Delaware Hayes Pacers.
Discuss this story NTSB rules pilot error caused crash at Centerburg