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NTSB Identification: FTW01FA063. The docket is stored on NTSB microfiche number DMS.
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, February 10, 2001 in Pecan Island, LA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 4/29/03
Aircraft: Aero Vodochody L-39C, registration: N901NL
Injuries: 2 Fatal.
The tandem seat experimental jet aircraft impacted terrain while performing low level aerobatics. Witnesses observed the airplane flying inverted over the pilot's hunting camp just prior to ground impact. No anomalies were found with the airframe or engine during examination of the wreckage. Partial disassembly of the engine revealed that it was operating at the time of the accident. According to radar records and a statement provided by an FAA inspector, the pilot had flown "vigorous" aerobatic flight sequences in a different airplane several hours prior to the accident flight. The two types of aircraft flown on the day of the accident had dissimilar flight envelopes, configurations, sight pictures, and relative speeds. An FAA inspector, who had given the pilot aerobatic instruction in the past, stated that the pilot could have been impaired during the accident flight due to "acute fatigue" from the aerobatic flights he flew earlier on the day of the accident.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
the pilot's failure to maintain altitude/clearance from terrain while performing low level aerobatics. A factor was fatigue.