ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 288408
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| Date: | Wednesday 23 June 2010 |
| Time: | 13:25 LT |
| Type: |  Seawind 3000 |
| Owner/operator: | private |
| Registration: | N79DJ |
| MSN: | 48 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2010 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 43 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming IO-540-EXP |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Sanibel Island, Florida -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Key West International Airport, FL (EYW/KEYW) |
| Sarasota-Bradenton Airport, FL (SRQ/KSRQ) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot of the experimental, amateur-build amphibian airplane was also the owner/builder. While descending through 6,000 feet mean sea level, a vibration developed in the elevator control. The pilot reduced engine power and the vibration decreased. When the pilot increased engine power, the vibration increased and he had to reduce engine power to a point where the airplane could not maintain altitude. The pilot subsequently performed a forced landing to water. The airplane touched down hard, which resulted in damage to the engine nacelle and empennage. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that approximately three-fourths of the elevator had separated in-flight. Metallurgical examination revealed that the elevator failed due to overstress, in the downward direction.
The pilot completed construction of the airplane about 3 weeks prior to the accident and the airplane had accrued 43 total hours of operation since its completion. The airplane was equipped with an empennage manufactured by a different manufacturer than that of the kit manufacturer, which was 49 percent larger than the kit empennage. Although the increased size did not add much weight, it added significant surface area, resulting in increased gust loads, with no added engineering to compensate for such loads.
The airplane's never exceed speed (Vne) was 230 mph (200 knots) and the maneuvering speed (Va) was 180 mph (156 knots). Review of a radar plot for the accident flight, overlaid on weather radar data, revealed that the accident airplane was traveling at a groundspeed of approximately 200 knots, in the vicinity of convective activity.
Probable Cause: An overstress failure of the elevator. Contributing to the accident was the owner/builder's modification of the experimental airplane beyond the recommendations of the kit manufacturer.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB ERA10LA328
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 18 February 2021 | N79DJ | Private | 0 | Venice Municipal Airport (VNC/KVNC), Venice, FL | |
unk |
| Gear-up landing | ||||||
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 04-Oct-2022 22:05 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
| 15-Sep-2023 19:10 | harro | Updated |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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