ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 185412
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| Date: | Tuesday 25 January 1994 |
| Time: | 19:10 |
| Type: | Mitchell Wing B10 (modified) |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | ZK-FKY |
| MSN: | MANZ 330 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Near Port Waikato, Waikato -
 New Zealand
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Test |
| Departure airport: | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Catastrophic structural failure in flight.
The pilot was test flying his Mitchell Wing after adjusting excessive play in the elevators and removing the aileron droop system from the aircraft.
The aircraft was observed flying southwest down the Waikato River at about 1,500 feet.
It was then seen to pitch sharply up and down two three times before most of one wing detached from the airframe.
The ultralight spiralled into the river, some 4km northeast of Port Waikato.
Nearby boats went to the accident scene and a person dived in and recovered the dead body of the pilot. He had been killed by the impact with the water.
The BRS parachute had deployed and was found wrapped around the fuselage. As it was not seen to deploy in the air the deployment may have been the result of the impact.
The accident investigator found the elevator flutter problem that the builder/pilot had sought to correct had recurred during normal flight and the pilot's attempt to stop it by " pulling up " led to failure of the ultralight aircraft's wing.
Sources:
TAIC Air Accident Report No. 94-004
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 14-Mar-2016 21:18 | angels one five | Added |
| 05-Feb-2022 15:37 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location, Narrative] |
| 17-Aug-2022 16:50 | angels one five | Updated [Location, Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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