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 homebuilt aircraft crashed near Collegedale during an in-flight familiarization session, but neither the private-rated pilot nor passenger were injured.
- The incident occurred as the new owner, a private-rated pilot, was conducting familiarization maneuvers with the delivery pilot.
- The crash was attributed to the pilot's unfamiliarity with the aircraft's controls, specifically the inability to timely retract speed brakes, causing the plane to get too low on final approach.
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