In 2007, two airplanes crashed a month apart, in somewhat similar circumstances. Both were light sport aircraft of European manufacture; both had two aboard; both stalled and spun from low altitude. In its findings of probable cause in the two accidents, the National Transportation Safety Board raised issues that should be of concern to light sport users and manufacturers.
The first accident took place in New Mexico in August, and involved a Zlin Aviation Savage, which is a small high-wing taildragger in the Cub/Champ style powered by a 100 hp Rotax engine. The airplane was being used to survey some ranch land for a new road; two were aboard. The 57-year-old instrument-rated private pilot, who had nearly 4,000 hours, had previously flown at least five hours in the Savage, including an hour-long checkout flight five days before the fatal accident. The instructor who checked him out described the pilot as “excellent,” and very well acquainted with the aircraft flight manual.
