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http://registry.faa.gov/N416
NTSB Identification: CEN12FA579
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Tuesday, August 28, 2012 in Pierre, SD
Probable Cause Approval Date: 02/27/2013
Aircraft: LEE PAUL SQ 2000, registration: N416
Injuries: 1 Fatal.
NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
During the airplane’s initial takeoff climb, two ground witnesses observed the left “gull-wing” entrance door to be open. They reported that when the airplane was about 50 feet above the ground, it entered a series of approximately four pitch oscillations. During the last pitch-down oscillation, the airplane impacted the runway at a steep descent angle and then skidded forward about 500 feet, coming to a stop near the right side of the runway. A postimpact fire ensued. Examination of the airframe, engine, propeller and the door did not reveal any anomalies associated with a preimpact failure or malfunction.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The airplane's entry into a pilot-induced oscillation and the pilot’s loss of airplane control during the takeoff initial climb. Contributing to the accident was the left entrance door opening in flight for undetermined reasons.
HISTORY OF FLIGHT
On August 28, 2012, about 0949 central daylight time, a Lee SQ-2000 experimental airplane, N416, owned and operated by the pilot, was substantially damaged during takeoff from Pierre Regional Airport (KPIR), Pierre, South Dakota. The certificated private pilot was fatally injured. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed during the flight. No flight plan was filed. The local flight was originating at the time of the accident.
On takeoff leg at about 50 feet above the ground, two witnesses observed the left “gull-wing” entrance door to be open and the airplane enter into a series of four up and down pitch oscillations. During the last pitch down oscillation, the airplane impacted the runway at a steep descent angle.
PERSONNEL INFORMATION
The pilot of N416, age 69, held a private pilot certificate with an airplane single-engine land rating. On October 5, 2011, the pilot was issued a limited third-class medical certificate, with the limitation that corrective lenses be worn while flying. At the time of the medical examination, the pilot reported having 330 hours of flight experience, with 2 hours in the last six months.
AIRCRAFT INFORMATION
The accident airplane was a KLS Composites (Kit), SQ-2000, which the pilot purchased on December 25, 2001. The airplane was issued a special airworthiness certificate on March 18, 2004. During April 2012, the pilot completed the installation of a Continental IO-360C engine. The pilot maintained detailed construction records of the accident airplane, to include construction of the “gull-wing” entrance doors. In these records, the pilot wrote that during flight it was very easy to open the doors and had constructed a door lock “clip” to prevent inadvertent opening of the entrance door closing mechanism. In these records, the pilot also described the aircraft being very pitch sensitive.
METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION
At 0953, the KPIR automated weather observation system reported the following weather conditions: Wind 090 degrees at 8 knots; sky clear; temperature 27 degrees Celsius (C); dew point 17 degrees C; altimeter setting 29.93 inches of mercury.
WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION
Following impact with the runway, the airplane slid to a stop on the edge of the runway and a postimpact fire ensued. The distance from initial runway impact to the main wreckage location was about 500 feet.
During examination, the engine crankshaft was rotated and a compression check was confirmed on all cylinders. Propeller impact with the runway resulted in the shredding of over half of the propeller’s diameter. Flight control surfaces were accounted for, although flight control continuity could not be confirmed due to impact and fire damage. Examination of the airframe, engine and propeller did not reveal any anomalies associated with a preimpact failure or malfunction.
Both “gull-wing” entrance doors separated from the airplane during the impact sequence and were not fire damaged. Examination of the left entrance “gull-wing” door revealed a witness mark corresponding to the door closing mechanism in a “partially closed” position. Extensive fire damage of the fuselage surrounding the left entrance door prevented further analysis of door failure.
MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION
On August 30, 2012, an autopsy was performed on the pilot at the Rapid City, South Dakota Regional Hospital. The cause of death was attributed to blunt force injuries. The FAA's Civil Aeromedical Institute in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, performed toxicology tests on the pilot. No carbon monoxide, cyanide, or drugs were detected in the blood, and no ethanol was detected in vitreous.
NTSB Identification: CEN12FA579
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Tuesday, August 28, 2012 in Pierre, SD
Aircraft: LEE PAUL SQ 2000, registration: N416
Injuries: 1 Fatal.
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.
On August 28, 2012, about 0949 central daylight time, a Lee SQ-2000 experimental airplane, N416, owned and operated by the pilot, was substantially damaged during takeoff from Pierre Regional Airport (KPIR), Pierre, South Dakota. The certificated private pilot was fatally injured. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed during the flight. No flight plan was filed. The local flight was originating at the time of the accident.
On takeoff leg at about 50 feet above the ground, two witnesses observed the left “gull-wing” entrance door to be open and the airplane enter into a series of four up and down pitch oscillations. During the last pitch down oscillation, the airplane impacted the runway at a steep descent angle and then skidded forward approximately 500 feet, coming to a stop near the right side of the runway. A post impact fire ensued.
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 416 Make/Model: EXP Description: SQ2000
Date: 08/29/2012 Time: 1449
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Fatal Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Destroyed
LOCATION
City: PIERRE State: SD Country: US
DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT ON TAKEOFF, CRASHED ONTO THE RUNWAY, THE 1 PERSON ON BOARD WAS
FATALLY INJURED, PIERRE, SD
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 1
# Crew: 1 Fat: 1 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Pass: 0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
OTHER DATA
Activity: Pleasure Phase: Take-off Operation: OTHER
FAA FSDO: RAPID CITY, SD (GL27) Entry date: 08/29/2012
08/27/2012 -
"http://www.sacskyranch.com/vibm.htm indicate that a malfunctioning hydraulic lifter could cause vibration. So I took all the lifters out and took them apart. Found one that was stuck with some dirt. Opened all the lifters, cleaned and oiled them. Reasembled it and its a happy engine now."
Paul Lee has a website where he documents each step he took to build the plane. He also has a travel log where the most recent post says he recently replaced the plane's engine.
PIERRE, SD - Federal authorities are investigating a deadly plane crash at the Pierre Regional Airport.
The airport manager says the single engine plane crashed during take off around 9:45 Tuesday morning. Only the pilot was on board at the time.
According to Federal Aviation Administration records, the plane was an SQ2000 registered to a Paul Lee of Pierre. And according to records, Lee built it.
The crash destroyed the small plane. Airport manager Mike Isaacs says it landed midfield and burned, killing the pilot inside.
"We're in the early stages of the investigation," Isaacs said.
Although Lee is registered as the plane’s owner through the FAA, local authorities aren't confirming who the pilot was who died.
Ashley Hughes lives near the airport and says she must have just missed the crash.
"Well I came outside and there was a big black plume of smoke and then a few seconds later you heard all the sirens and stuff," Hughes said.
Isaacs says people heard the plane take off but authorities haven't found anyone who witnessed it go down.
"Typically those aircraft crashes take quite a bit of time to determine what happened," Isaacs said.
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are leading the investigation.
Isaacs says thoughts and prayers from the flying community are with the family. Others around Pierre echo that too.
"My heart goes out to the family. That's just so sad that something like that has to happen,” Hughes said. “You never wish that on anybody."
Safety records show this plane had problems while landing in North Dakota in 2005. Again in 2006, the plane's landing gear failed in Michigan.
Lee has a website where he documents each step he took to build the plane. He also has a travel log where the most recent post says he recently replaced the plane's engine.
One person is dead from a single-engine plane crash at the Pierre airport.
Pierre Airport Manager Mike Isaacs says the crash happened during a 9:45 a.m. take-off Tuesday.
It happened on Runway 13. Isaacs says the aircraft is totally destroyed.
KCCR Radio News Director Tony Mangan reports some people in the area say they heard a crash and saw smoke.
Mangan reports law enforcement blocked off access to the airport at the corner of Northstar and Airport Road.
Isaacs says officials are investigating the scene and they are waiting to confirm if anyone else was on board. Isaacs says the Federal Aviation Administration is on its way to the scene.
The airport remains open.
PIERRE — One person is dead in the crash of a single-engine airplane at the Pierre airport.
Airport Manager Mike Isaacs tells KGFX and KCCR radio that the crash happened at takeoff about 9:45 a.m. today. He says it doesn’t appear that anyone other than the pilot was on board. The pilot was not immediately identified.
Tony Molinaro, a spokesman with the Great Lakes Region FAA, said the plane was a single-engine SQ2000.
Molinaro didn’t know the route of the plane. Though FAA will investigate, it usually turns the investigation over to the the National Transportation Safety Board when a fatality is involved, Molinaro said.
The airport remains open.
Previous accident:
NTSB Identification: CHI06CA111.
The docket is stored in the Docket Management System (DMS). Please contact Records Management Division
Accident occurred Thursday, April 13, 2006 in Berrien Springs, MI
Probable Cause Approval Date: 07/31/2006
Aircraft: Lee SQ 2000, registration: N416
Injuries: 2 Uninjured.
The amateur-built airplane was substantially damaged during landing when it departed the right side of runway 31 and the main landing gear collapsed. The pilot reported that the airplane touched down on the runway, and that "it appeared [to be] a good touchdown." He stated that during the rollout, the airplane felt "rubbery" and "vibrated or appeared to hop." He lost control of the airplane and it subsequently departed the right side of the runway. The pilot noted that the flight was "very turbulent," although it was "a little more manageable" at lower altitudes. The airport manager reported that skid marks observed on the runway appeared to be associated with the right main landing gear of the accident airplane. He stated that the marks started approximately one-quarter of the way down runway 31, near the first taxiway intersection after the displaced threshold. He noted that the marks were intermittent. Each skid mark was about 18 inches long, with clear (non-skid) intervals of approximately 6 feet between them. In addition, the marks appeared to "jump back and forth" laterally from one mark to the next. They appeared to move from side to side about 6 - 8 inches between each mark. He added that the marks veered toward the right side of the runway, and stopped about 200 feet before the point at which the airplane left the pavement. Marks from the accident airplane continued in the grass area adjacent to the runway. He noted that a pin on the right gear brace appeared to have failed and the brace on the left gear had failed. Winds recorded approximately 13 minutes after the accident, at an airport located 11 nautical miles north of the accident site, were from 230 degrees at 13 knots, gusting to 20 knots.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
Failure of the right main landing gear assembly during landing and the pilot's subsequent inability to maintain directional control of the airplane. Contributing factors were the collapse of the left and right main landing gear and the gusty, crosswind condition.
