ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 45224
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| Date: | Saturday 10 May 2003 |
| Time: | 12:09 |
| Type: |  Douglas A-4N Skyhawk |
| Owner/operator: | Advanced Training Systems International Inc |
| Registration: | N263WL |
| MSN: | 159523 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 2664 hours |
| Engine model: | Pratt & Whitney J52 P-408 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Salt Lake City, UT -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Ferry/positioning |
| Departure airport: | Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, AZ (AZA/KIWA) |
| Ogden-Hill AFB, UT (HIF/KHIF) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On May 10, 2003, at approximately 1209 mountain daylight time, a former military non-certificated McDonnell Douglas A-4N Skyhawk, N263WL, was destroyed when it impacted the Great Salt Lake following a loss of engine power near Salt Lake City, Utah. The airline transport pilot, the sole occupant on the airplane, was fatally injured. Advanced Training Systems International (ATSI), Inc., Mesa, Arizona, was operating the airplane, under contract to the United States Government (U.S. Army Big Crow Program Office), as a public use flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross-country flight that originated from Mesa, Arizona, at approximately 1100. The pilot was flying the number two aircraft, in a flight of three, under an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan. The planned destination was Hill Air Force Base, Ogden, Utah.
The airplane was a former military (non-certificated) aircraft which was under contract to the U.S. Army. It was descending over the Great Salt Lake for landing at Hill Air Force Base when the engine ingested a bird. Subsequently the engine was heavily FOD damaged, and the turbine section was melted. The pilot ejected from the airplane, but the ejection seat system malfunctioned and the pilot was fatally injured. The airplane impacted the lake. The airplane had been contracted and built for the Israeli Defense Force in 1974. The maintenance log books and physical evidence indicated that they had made modifications to the ejection seat assembly. Naval Air Station (NAVAIR DEPOT), Jacksonville, Florida, personnel evaluated the ejection seat system and determined that the left hand coupling assembly (which has very critical parameters for proper operation) had not separated as designed. The NAVAIR DEPOT personnel could not determine the reason the left hand coupling assembly did not operate properly, as the airplane's cockpit was not recovered from the Great Salt Lake.
Probable Cause: The lose of engine power during descent due to the in-flight collision with a bird which FOD damaged the engine and subsequently melted the turbine section. A contributing factor was the airplane's malfunctioning ejection seat.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20030515X00672&key=1
Location
Images:
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 28-Oct-2008 00:45 | ASN archive | Added |
| 20-Aug-2016 08:50 | Aerossurance | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Source, Narrative] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:24 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 08-Dec-2017 18:44 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Operator, Source, Narrative] |
| 28-Dec-2020 17:27 | TB | Updated [Narrative] |
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