14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Wednesday, February 13, 2013 in Winters, CA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 05/08/2014
Aircraft: AVIONS FAIREY TIPSY NIPPER T-66, registration: N1959N
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.
The airplane was in cruise flight about 2,000 feet above the ground when several witnesses reported hearing a loud "crack," "pop," or "snap" sound and then looking up and seeing something separate from the airplane and then pieces falling to the ground. The outboard 4 feet of the right wing was found about 2,000 feet away from the main wreckage, and a turkey vulture carcass was found near the wing section. Postaccident examinations of the wing section revealed blood spots and a downy barbule, which was identified as a fragment of a turkey vulture feather.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The airplane's impact with a turkey vulture in cruise flight, which resulted in the structural failure of the right wing and the subsequent loss of control.
HISTORY OF FLIGHT
On February 13, 2013, about 1615 Pacific standard time, an Avions Fairey Tipsy Nipper T-66, N1959N, was destroyed when it impacted with terrain following a bird strike in cruise flight near Winters, California. The commercial pilot, the sole occupant of the airplane, was fatally injured. The pilot/owner was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal cross-country flight, which had originated from Yolo County Airport, Davis/Winters, California, approximately 15 minutes before the accident. A flight plan had not been filed, but friends of the pilot said that his destination was Nut Tree Airport, Vacaville, California.
Several witnesses reported hearing a loud "crack" or "snap" sound. They looked up to see something separate from the airplane, and two pieces fluttering or spiraling/spinning to the ground. One witness thought the airplane was at least 2,000 feet above the ground when he heard the "pop" sound. Another witness thought the airplane had hit something. All the witnesses reported that the weather was very nice and very clear. There was no postimpact fire.
AIRCRAFT INFORMATION
The airplane was a single-engine, propeller-driven, single-seat airplane, which was manufactured by Avions Fairey in Charleroi, Belgium, in 1959. Its maximum takeoff gross weight was about 727 pounds. It was powered by a Jabiru 2200 reciprocating, direct drive, air-cooled, normally aspirated engine, which had a maximum takeoff rating of 80 horsepower at sea level. The airplane had a welded steel tube fuselage and rudder, with a wood and fabric covered wing and empennage. The airplane was certificated in the U.S. as an experimental airplane in the exhibition category.
WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION
The main wreckage was located next to Interstate Highway 505. The California State Highway Patrol located the outboard 4 feet of the right wing approximately 2,000 feet north of the main wreckage. Additionally, a dead turkey vulture was found alongside the interstate highway about 50 feet north of the main wreckage. The wing section was shipped to the National Transportation Safety Board's Materials Laboratory located in Washington, D.C., for analysis. Blood spots were identified in the section, and those samples were sent to the Smithsonian Institution Feather Identification Laboratory. Their expert reported finding a downy barbule, which was identified to be a fragment of a turkey vulture feather. According to the expert, turkey vultures weigh an average of 4.5 pounds and have a wing span of up to 6 feet.
MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION
The Solano County Coroner's Office performed an autopsy on the pilot on February 14, 2013. The FAA's Civil Aeromedical Institute (CAMI) in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, performed toxicology tests on the pilot. The tests were negative for ethanol and drugs. Tests for carbon monoxide and cyanide were not performed.
http://registry.faa.gov/N1959N
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NTSB Identification: WPR13FA123
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Wednesday, February 13, 2013 in Winters, CA
Aircraft: AVIONS FAIREY TIPSY NIPPER T-66, registration: N1959N
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. 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.
On February 13, 2013, about 1615 Pacific standard time, an Avions Fairey Tipsy Nipper T-66, N1959N, was substantially damaged following impact with terrain near Winters, California. The commercial pilot was fatally injured. The pilot/owner was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal cross-country flight, which had originated from Yolo County Airport, Davis/Winters, California, approximately 15 minutes before the accident. A flight plan had not been filed, but friends of the pilot said that his destination was Nut Tree Airport, Vacaville, California.
Several witnesses reported hearing a loud bang/pop, and observed the airplane fluttering down in pieces. There was no postimpact fire.
WINTERS, Calif. — The Solano County coroner's office has identified the pilot who died when his plane crashed near Winters on Wednesday afternoon as 68-year-old Jeffrey Sharman, of Vacaville.
Sharman owned Sharman Enterprises Inc. According to its Facebook page, the company dismantles and ships aircraft to more than 25 countries.
The company was started as Jarlin Aviation by Sharman's father Harry in South Africa in 1965, and Jeffrey Sharman relocated the business when he moved to California in 1986, according to the page.
The company was based at the Yolo County Airport, but Sharman moved the business to the Nut Tree Airport in Vacaville a few months ago, according to Wes Irvin, manager of the Yolo County Airport.
California Highway Patrol Officer Chris Parker said it is believed that Sharman was flying between the two airports when the Avions Fairey Tipsy Nipper T-66 plane crashed around 4:15 p.m. near Interstate Highway 505 just north of Wolfskill Road.
A witness said he heard a loud crack in the air and saw the wing of the plane come off and the plane spiral to the ground, Parker said.
The plane did not catch fire, but Sharman was found dead inside the aircraft, Parker said.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.
http://jarlin.com/site
http://www.thereporter.com
http://www.kcra.com
Solano County Sheriff's Department investigators examine a small aircraft that crashed just off Northbound Interstate 505 near Winter, Calif. on Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013. Authorities say one person is dead after a small plane lost a wing and crashed just feet from a Northern California freeway.
Dixon Fire, Solano Sheriff and CHP on scene of a plane crash just off Interstate 505 near Winters. The pilot is confirmed dead.
Avions Fairey Tipsy Nipper T-66, N1959N
SOLANO COUNTY (CBS13) – A pilot has died after his experimental plane lost a wing and crashed in Solano County, California Highway Patrol say.
The crash happened Wednesday afternoon just off Interstate 505 in Winters.
Distraught friends call him an expert pilot who’d flown for decades. However, witnesses say he didn’t have a chance when his plane, literally, fell apart in mid-air.
“I heard the engine making a weird sound up there; and when I look up in the sky, he was spiraling down,” witness Gordon Kemp said.
Kemp couldn’t believe what he was watching as a wing came off and landed in the Interstate 505 center divider.
“I see him coming down, and then I lost track, and then I knew he hit the ground,” Kemp said.
“It just torpedoed into the ground,” neighbor Carol English said.
The pilot wouldn’t survive the impact after his Avions Fairey Tipsy Nipper T-66 crashed. According to one expert, there are only a few dozen flown worldwide.
California Highway Patrol says he was coming from the Yolo County Airport and heading for the Nut Tree Airport in Vacaville. The crash near Wolfskill Road and Interstate 505 came at the halfway point.
“It’s pretty sad,” said English.
She is used to seeing small planes in the area.
“Late afternoon, they’re out. One or two, you’re wondering what’re they doing up there, like he said, stalling or practicing,” said English.
She’s never seen something so horrific as this.
Federal Aviation Administration records show the single-seat plane’s tail number “N1959N” was registered to Vacaville aircraft shipping company Sharman Enterprises.
The Solano County Fire Department said the pilot was found dead on arrival, but his identity has not been released.
Dixon Fire, Solano Sheriff and CHP are on the scene, according to Joel Rosenbaum of the Vacaville Reporter, who is tweeting photos from the scene.
