At about 18:00 EDT, a homebuilt Long-EZ crashed in the vicinity of Collegedale. The private-rated pilot and private-rated passenger were not injured. According to the pilot, he had just purchased the airplane and was conducting in-flight familiarization with the delivery pilot. After 30 minutes of flight and two landings conducted from the back seat, the pilots decided to perform a full-stop landing and switch seats. The pilot reported that the airplane got too low on final approach with the speed brakes extended, and that he was not familiar enough with the cockpit control location for the speed brakes to retract them in a timely manner.
May 26, Collegedale, Tenn. / Long-EZ
At about 18:00 EDT, a homebuilt Long-EZ crashed in the vicinity of Collegedale. The private-rated pilot and private-rated passenger were not injured. According to the pilot, he had just purchased the airplane and was conducting in-flight familiarization with the delivery pilot. After 30 minutes of flight and two landings conducted from the back seat, the pilots decided to perform a full-stop landing and switch seats. The pilot reported that the airplane got too low on final approach with the speed brakes extended, and that he was not familiar enough with the cockpit control location for the speed brakes to retract them in a timely manner....
Key Takeaways:
- A newly purchased Long-EZ aircraft crashed near Collegedale during an in-flight familiarization session, with both the private-rated pilot and passenger remaining uninjured.
- The pilot, who was the new owner, was flying from the back seat after conducting two previous landings.
- The crash occurred due to the pilot's unfamiliarity with the aircraft's controls, specifically the inability to timely retract extended speed brakes during a low final approach.
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