ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 249906
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| Date: | Saturday 17 April 2021 |
| Time: | 10:48 |
| Type: |  Rans S-12 Airaile |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N707PH |
| MSN: | R0192169 S-12 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1995 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 422 hours |
| Engine model: | Rotax 583 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Colville, WA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Test |
| Departure airport: | Colville Municipal Airport, WA (63S) |
| Colville Municipal Airport, WA (63S) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On April 17, 2021, about 1048 Pacific daylight time, an experimental, amateur-built Rans S-12 light sport airplane, N707PH, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Colville, Washington. The pilot and passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 test flight.
The owner of the airplane, who was not a pilot, was selling the airplane to his friend, who was a pilot. The two spent the winter rebuilding the airplane, which had previously been involved in an accident and had been in storage, in pieces, for the previous 5 years. On the day of the accident, the pilot announced to an acquaintance that the airplane’s maintenance issues had been corrected and they were going to take the airplane on a test flight.
A witness who saw the airplane’s takeoff and initial climb reported that the airplane’s climb rate was “not impressive” and that it was only “slightly climbing.” Two witnesses who saw the airplane before the accident stated that the engine was “sputtering” and that the airplane was “losing altitude quickly.” Photos of the airplane just before the accident showed the airplane flying toward a set of power distribution lines before entering a steep bank away from the lines, after which the airplane impacted terrain.
The airplane came to rest in a nose-down attitude in an open field adjacent to the power distribution lines. Examination of the wreckage revealed that both carburetors’ float brackets were not adjusted in accordance with the manufacturer’s maintenance manual, which likely restricted the amount of fuel in the carburetor bowls.
Multiple people stated that the owner and pilot had been troubleshooting a carburetor issue before the accident flight. One person described it as, “over-producing fuel, and the fuel was running out of the back [of the airplane].”
The repair work on the airplane was overseen by a mechanic with inspection authorization who advised the two as they went and gave the two general maintenance advice. The mechanic was aware that neither the owner nor the pilot were certificated mechanics or light sport repairmen; however, he described the owner as a competent mechanic. About 1 month before the accident, the mechanic completed an entry in the airplane’s maintenance logbook stating that the condition inspection had been completed and that the airplane was “found to be in an airworthy condition” and “approved for return to service.” The mechanic was aware of the carburetor issue but did not know who worked on the carburetors and thought that the carburetors had been sent away for repair. After the carburetors were reinstalled, the mechanic observed the pilot conduct ground runs and thought that the engine “sounded fine.”
It is likely that the engine was not producing full power as a result of the improperly adjusted carburetor float brackets, which resulted in degraded climb performance or the airplane’s inability to climb. Based on the witness statements and photos, it is likely that the pilot was maneuvering to avoid powerlines when he exceeded the airplane’s critical angle of attack and the airplane entered an aerodynamic stall.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack while maneuvering to avoid powerlines, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and a loss of control. Contributing to the accident was the partial loss of engine power due to improper maintenance of the carburetors.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://statesmanexaminer.com/content/light-plane-crashes-near-colville?fbclid=IwAR3OpnLY5ZSznwNPGkfjNnGBdJ1HmmS0E5LztqD8eNL6B_jsKll32fIKTU0
FAA
NTSB
https://flightaware.com/resources/registration/N707PH
Location
Images:
Photo: NTSB
Media:
A light plane crashed near Colville today in a field at 333 Hotchkiss Road. https://statesmanexaminer.com/content/light-plane-crashes-near-colville
Posted by Statesman Examiner Newspaper on Saturday, April 17, 2021
NTSB is investigating the April 17, 2021, crash of a Rans S-12 airplane near Colville, Washington. The NTSB is not traveling to the scene.
— NTSB_Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) April 18, 2021
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 18-Apr-2021 18:59 | Captain Adam | Added |
| 19-Apr-2021 15:17 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Phase, Nature, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
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