Accident Evektor SportStar Plus N906LA,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 58977
 
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Date:Tuesday 17 March 2009
Time:18:52
Type:Silhouette image of generic EVSS model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Evektor SportStar Plus
Owner/operator:Private
Registration: N906LA
MSN: 2007 0906
Engine model:Rotax 912
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Category:Accident
Location:Airlake Airport (KLVN), south of Minneapolis, Minnesota -   United States of America
Phase: Take off
Nature:Training
Departure airport:Lakeville, MN (LVN)
Destination airport:Lakeville, MN (LVN)
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
A certified flight instructor (CFI) and his student were practicing maneuvers to simulate slow flight and aircraft control before landing. The intent of the maneuver was to fly the airplane down the length of the runway with the wheels about 2 feet above the runway surface. The student was to control airspeed with pitch, heading with rudder, drift with aileron control, and altitude with power. The CFI stated that the accident occurred on the second attempt of this maneuver and that the first attempt ended because the student was too fast and had too much engine power. The CFI stated that the second pass "started well" but the airplane began to sink around mid-field. He instructed the student to relinquish control and attempted a go-around. The airplane started pitching up and turning to the left, and subsequently impacted the ground. The CFI stated that he believed the student was pushing on the CFI's left rudder pedal during the mishap. He stated that on other occasions students have had their right foot slip off the pilot rudder pedal and on to the co-pilot's left rudder pedal. The student gave a similar account of the accident, but stated that after he relinquished control his feet were "tucked back under [him]." The manufacturer has designed a retrofit barrier that, when installed, would prevent a pilot from being able to depress the rudder pedal in the neighboring pilot position.
Probable Cause: The instructor pilot’s failure to maintain directional control of the airplane, and the student pilot’s unintentional interference with the instructor’s rudder pedal during the go-around. Contributing to the accident was the cockpit design which allowed inadvertent rudder pedal activation from the opposite seat position.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: CEN09LA238
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 1 year and 4 months
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB

Location

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
17-Mar-2009 23:35 slowkid Added
13-Apr-2010 12:19 TB Updated [Aircraft type]
21-Dec-2016 19:25 ASN Update Bot Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency]
01-Dec-2017 12:14 ASN Update Bot Updated [Cn, Operator, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]

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