Extra Flugzeugbau Gmbh EA 300/L N4BM accident near Jerome, Idaho

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from terrain while conducting a low-altitude aerobatic maneuver.

NTSB analysis

The private pilot was conducting a local personal flight. A witness located at the airport reported that he observed the accident airplane take off and then head southwest. He then observed the airplane perform a loop, and he estimated that, at the top of the maneuver, the airplane was about 1,500 ft above ground level. As the airplane began leveling off at the bottom of the loop, it descended out of the witness's line of sight behind a building. The pilot reported that he did not recall anything about the flight.

Postaccident examination of the recovered wreckage did not reveal any preexisting mechanical malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. Wreckage and impact signatures were consistent with a high-energy, low-angle impact with terrain. It is likely that the pilot did not properly gauge the airplane's distance from terrain while conducting the low-altitude aerobatic maneuver and failed to level off in time to avoid impacting terrain.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR15LA255 for the full record.