Bentley N2357

Bentley N2357 SE/FG

This airplane was destroyed 15 April 2023, in an accident that killed test pilot Bobby Ibrahim. This airplane is odd, in that it was registered as having been built by Travis Holland, but owned by "Bentley LLC" out of Seattle, but the test flight was in Andrews, NC. Apparently this unit had an oddly setup turbo, with a manually-controlled wastegate, and could not develop climb power with the gate open, which may have contributed to the accident.

Airworthiness Date: 10/21/2012
Builder:                     Travis Holland
Serial#:                     FGA-001
Destroyed:                03/01/2008

Check out the local news accident page for more information and the ASN initial report.

Officials say a single engine aircraft had crashed into a tree and caught fire.
The one person who was on board, the pilot, was ejected from the plane upon impact and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Officials say the plane crashed shortly after taking off around 10:45 a.m. The Cherokee County Sheriff's Office tells News 13 eyewitnesses shared they had seen the plane make a turn then start to descend.
“I hate it for the family. I’m sorry for them. They are in my thoughts and prayers," Trooper Hal Robertson with the State Highway Patrol said.
North Carolina State Highway Patrol, along with other agencies, remained on scene until an FAA investigation team arrived.
Tommy Lands of Cherokee County told News 13 he witnessed the aircraft crash.
“Me and my wife were outside on the other side of the house and heard an airplane going over,” said Lands. “We heard [it] backfire, limbs breaking, crash. We came running around the house just in time to see a big ball of flames go up.”
Lands lives across the road from where the crash happened.
“We couldn’t get over there to help the person,” Lands said. “It tore me and my wife up. There was nothing we could do. We were helpless.”
A statement from the National Transportation Safety Board to News 13 reads, in part:
The preliminary information available currently is that a Homebuilt Velocity aircraft impacted a field on departure from Western Carolina Regional Airport near Andrews, North Carolina
The Federal Aviation Administration released the following statement to News 13:
A single-engine Velocity crashed in a field near Andrews, North Carolina, around 10:30 a.m. local time on Saturday, April 15. Only the pilot was on board.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate. The NTSB will be in charge of the investigation and will provide any updates.
Officials are working to inform next of kin. No other information has been released at this time.

Pictures

Accident Pictures

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