Remos GX, N75GX: Accident occurred April 05, 2012 in Ann Arbor, Michigan

NTSB Identification: CEN12LA231
 14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Thursday, April 05, 2012 in Ann Arbor, MI
Probable Cause Approval Date: 04/25/2013
Aircraft: REMOS ACFT GMBH FLUGZEUGBAU REMOS GX, registration: N75GX
Injuries: 1 Serious.

NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

The student pilot reported that the airplane suddenly veered to the left during the takeoff roll and that he was unable to maintain control, even with full opposite rudder and aileron inputs. The airplane became momentarily airborne before it nosed down and impacted a field adjacent to the runway. The student pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The student pilot's failure to maintain airplane control on takeoff, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and collision with terrain.

On April 5, 2012, at 1130 eastern daylight time, N75GX, a special light sport Remos GX, sustained substantial damage on takeoff from the Ann Arbor Municipal Airport (ARB), Ann Arbor, Michigan. The student pilot was seriously injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by Gemini Aviation LLC, Flat Rock, Michigan. A visual flight rules flight plan was filed for the flight destined for Adrian, Lenawee County Airport (ADG), Adrian, Michigan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the solo cross country flight conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.

In a written statement, the student pilot stated that during the take off roll on runway 06, the airplane suddenly veered "hard" to the left. He was unable to correct the turn with full right rudder and aileron. The student pilot said, "...The airplane just jumped up into the air and when it went up it continued to go to the left and then it came straight down." The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings, the empennage, and the firewall. In addition, both the left main and nose landing gears had separated.

The student pilot reported a total of 25.5 flight hours; all of which were in the accident airplane. He also said there were no pre-mishap mechanical failures.

At 1135, weather reported at the airport was wind from 060 degrees at 12 knots gusting to 22 knots, visibility 10 miles, scattered clouds at 2,900 feet, temperature 6 degrees Celsius, dewpoint -2 degrees Celsius, and an altimeter setting of 30.05 inches of Mercury.

 NTSB Identification: CEN12LA231 
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Thursday, April 05, 2012 in Ann Arbor, MI
Aircraft: REMOS ACFT GMBH FLUGZEUGBAU REMOS GX, registration: N75GX
Injuries: 1 Serious.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

On April 5, 2012, at 1050 eastern daylight time, N75GX, a special light sport Remos GX, sustained substantial damage on takeoff from Ann Arbor Municipal Airport (ARB), Ann Arbor, Michigan. The student pilot was seriously injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by Gemini Aviation LLC, Flat Rock, Michigan. A visual flight rules flight plan was filed for the flight destined for Adrian, Lenawee County Airport (ADG), Adrian, Michigan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the solo cross country flight conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.

A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector performed an on-scene examintion of the airplane. According to the inspector, the airplane was in the process of departing runway 06, when it veered to the left and went off the runway. The airplane appeared to have cartwheeled before it came to rest upright about 200 feet from the runway. There were no witnesses.

A review of photographs taken by first responders revealed the airplane's empennage separated from the airframe. In addition, both wings and the firewall were substantially damaged.

At 1035, weather reported at the airport was wind from 060 degrees at 12 knots gusting to 22 knots, visibility 10 miles, scattered clouds at 2,900 feet, temperature 6 degrees Celsius, dewpoint -2 degrees Celsius, and an altimeter setting of 30.05 inches of Mercury.

Pittsfield Township rescue crews freed the occupant of the wreckage.

The lone occupant of a plane that crashed just before noon Thursday at the Ann Arbor Municipal Airport has been transported to University of Michigan Hospital.

Kristin Kasten, supervisor at Huron Valley Ambulance, said crews were sent to the scene near South State and Ellsworth roads at 11:43 a.m. Thursday after the aircraft went down. 

Witnesses said the occupant was trapped in the plane for an estimated 30 minutes while Pittsfield Township police and fire extricated him from the wreckage.

Joyce Williams, spokeswoman for HVA, said the man was transported in serious but stable condition to the hospital.

It appeared to be a fixed-wing single-engine aircraft licensed by a company from Flat Rock.

Rescue crews were leaving the scene by about 12:30 p.m., though investigators remained near the fallen aircraft.

Lynn Crum, facilities manager at the airport, told the Associated Press the plane took off and circled around before crashing.

The two-seater plane with an overhead wing took off before crashing into a grassy field northwest of the runway, according to Pittsfield Department of Public Safety Director Matt Harshberger The man was pinned inside the cockpit at the legs due, Harshberger said.

Pittsfield firefighters used hydraulic rescue tools and saws to remove the wreckage, he said. It was about 30 minutes before the man could be freed and taken to the University of Michigan Hospital, Harshberger said.

 

“He was conscious and, beyond that, he had injuries and went to the hospital for those,” Harshberger said. “He was talking with people at the scene.”

Fluids from the airplane, including gasoline, did leak out of the plane but there was no fire. 

The airport’s tower closed the airport to all air traffic Thursday morning and it remained closed Thursday afternoon as Federal Aviation Authority and Pittsfield Township investigators conducted their review.

Harshberger said there is a fire station near the airport and it took crews about one minute to respond to the crash. He praised the firefighters who cut the man out of the plane — removing the engine in order to free the man’s lower legs — and other responding personnel for getting the man out as safely as possible.

“We were on scene quickly and we did what we had to do to get him out,” Harshberger said. “The firefighters and police officers did a great job.”

An airport supervisor says a man was taken to the hospital after his single-engine, two-seat plane crashed near the Ann Arbor Municipal Airport. Ann Arbor facilities supervisor Lynn Crum says the man was alone in the plane that took off late Thursday morning. He says the plane circled around and crashed in a field about 150 feet from the small airport’s runway. Crum says the man was “in shock” but alive after the crash. He was taken by ambulance to University of Michigan Hospitals. A hospital spokeswoman says she could not provide information about the victim.