At 13:30 eastern time, a homebuilt Starduster Too struck trees while maneuvering near Watertown. The student pilot was seriously injured. Witnesses reported the airplane flying at an altitude estimated as 150 to 500 feet agl at a high rate of speed. They said the airplane made high-speed, steep turns at low altitude. A city police officer reported seeing the airplane performing low-altitude aerobatics. The pilot said his attention was distracted while he was trying to tune his handheld radio to the AWOS frequency and he flew into the trees. The pilots logbook contained 31.7 hours of flight experience, 17.9 hours of which were in the Starduster Too.
September 23, Watertown, Ct. / Starduster Too
At 13:30 eastern time, a homebuilt Starduster Too struck trees while maneuvering near Watertown. The student pilot was seriously injured. Witnesses reported the airplane flying at an altitude estimated as 150 to 500 feet agl at a high rate of speed. They said the airplane made high-speed, steep turns at low altitude. A city police officer reported seeing the airplane performing low-altitude aerobatics. The pilot said his attention was distracted while he was trying to tune his handheld radio to the AWOS frequency and he flew into the trees. The pilots logbook contained 31.7 hours of flight experience, 17.9 hours of which were in the Starduster Too....
Key Takeaways:
- A student pilot was seriously injured when his homebuilt Starduster Too crashed near Watertown after witnesses reported it performing low-altitude, high-speed, steep turns, and potential aerobatics.
- The pilot stated his attention was distracted while trying to tune a handheld radio, causing him to fly into trees.
- The pilot had limited flight experience, logging only 31.7 total hours, with 17.9 hours in the accident aircraft.
Key takeaways sponsored by Aviator Pro | Start Your Training ->
See a mistake? Contact us.
