ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 291707
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| Date: | Wednesday 18 October 2006 |
| Time: | 14:09 LT |
| Type: | Windward OWL |
| Owner/operator: | Mississippi State University |
| Registration: | N401MS |
| MSN: | 001 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 3 hours |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Starkville, Mississippi -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Unknown |
| Nature: | Test |
| Departure airport: | Starkville-George M Bryan Airport, MS (KSTF) |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The commercial pilot lost control of the experimental glider during a test flight, following the in-flight separation of both wings. The pilot was ejected from the disabled glider and was able to deploy his emergency parachute for a safe landing. The operator reported that the glider was towed to a pressure altitude of 12,000-feet by a Cessna tow-plane. During the test flight sequence, the aircraft experienced an in-flight break-up when both wings separated from the fuselage while maneuvering at 7,675 feet. Prior tests on the glider indicated the wing flutter speed was approximately 169 knots. The experimental glider was also equipped with an on-board flight data recording system that sent data to a ground station during the test flight. Post flight analysis of the data indicated that during the nose down attitude, the wings separated from the airframe at approximately 162 knots. The flight engineer stated that the glider was equipped with an airspeed indicator that indicated a maximum airspeed of 105 knots. The stop-point for the airspeed indicator was just beyond the maximum indicated airspeed. The pilot was unaware that the "never exceed" speed of 123 knots had been breached during the descent. The glider was reported to have been equipped with a ballistic recovery system (BRS) parachute, which was successfully deployed. The fuselage of the glider came to rest approximately 2.5 miles northeast of the airport.
Probable Cause: The structural failure of the airframe due to the inadvertent excessive airspeed during maneuvering.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB DFW07LA006
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 07-Oct-2022 17:57 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
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