Friday, March 29, 2013

Cirrus SR22T GTS, MWBS Holdings LLC, N1967N: Accident occurred March 29, 2013 in Alexandria, Minnesota

http://registry.faa.gov/N1967N

NTSB Identification: CEN13LA212 
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, March 29, 2013 in Alexandria, MN
Probable Cause Approval Date: 12/11/2013
Aircraft: CIRRUS SR22T, registration: N1967N
Injuries: 2 Minor, 2 Uninjured.

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 pilot reported that, while on the downwind leg of the airport traffic pattern, he heard a loud noise during flap extension. The pilot initiated a climb and struggled to maintain roll control. He stated that he attempted to reduce the airplane’s rolling tendency by adjusting flap position. According to data from an onboard flight recording device, he briefly adjusted the flaps to the up position and then back to half. He then adjusted the flaps from half to full, and the airplane began to roll right due to flap asymmetry, eventually reaching 86 degrees of right bank. The airplane began to stall, and the pilot activated the airplane’s ballistic parachute recovery system. Subsequently, the airplane descended to the ground with the aid of the parachute and came to rest upright on a frozen lake. About 18 months before the accident flight, the airplane underwent maintenance to remove and replace both the left and right flaps. According to maintenance manual procedures, the mounting bolt and washer hardware were to be safety wired to the flap actuation fitting. However, during postaccident examinations, the right flap rod end was found disconnected from the right flap actuation fitting, and the connection hardware was missing. The mounting bolt and washer were found lying under the airplane; however, no safety wire was found. Therefore, the safety wire was most likely not installed when the right flap was reinstalled during maintenance. Although the mounting bolt and washer were likely tightened during the installation, they likely gradually became loose over time because of the missing safety wire, which led the right flap rod end to separate from the right flap actuation fitting during the flap extension on the accident flight. Since the time of the maintenance (211 hours of operation), annual, prebuy, and preflight inspections occurred, during which the lack of a safety wire went unnoticed.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The failure of maintenance personnel to install a safety wire during reinstallation of the right flap, which led to the separation of the right flap rod from the right flap actuation fitting during flap extension. Contributing to the accident were inadequate inspections of the right flap during subsequent annual, prebuy, and preflight inspections.
  
**This report was modified on 9/20/2013. Please see the public docket for this accident to view the original report.**

On March 29, 2013, about 1045 central daylight time, a Cirrus SR22T airplane, N1967N, was substantially damaged after impact with terrain (frozen lake) near the Chandler Field Airport (AXN), Alexandria, Minnesota. The private pilot and one passenger sustained minor injuries, and two passengers were not injured. The airplane was registered to MWBS Holdings LLC and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which originated from the Marv Skie-Lincoln County Airport (Y14), Tea, South Dakota about 0904.

While on pattern downwind to AXN, the pilot reported a loud noise during flap extension. The pilot initiated a climb as he struggled to maintain roll control. He attempted to reduce the airplane’s rolling tendency by adjusting flap position. As his control of the airplane worsened, the pilot pulled the ballistic recovery system handle. The parachute deployed and the airplane descended onto a frozen lake.

The flight recording device was recovered from the accident airplane and forwarded to the National Transportation Safety Board’s Vehicle Recorder Laboratory for evaluation. While on pattern downwind, the recorder indicated that the flaps were adjusted from up to half and the airplane made several left bank turns, with a maximum of 30 degrees of left bank. About 18 seconds after initial flap movement, the flaps were briefly adjusted to up and returned to half.

About 36 seconds after initial flap movement, the flaps were adjusted from half to full and the airplane began a right roll to a steep right bank attitude. A stall indication was recorded 38 seconds after the flaps were adjusted to full. The Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) was deployed two seconds after the stall indication. The CAPS handle pull occurred at a pitch of 22 degrees nose down, a roll attitude of 86 degrees right bank, and an altitude of about 519 feet above ground level.

The airplane was examined at the accident site by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspectors and a representative of Cirrus Design Corporation. The right flap rod end was found disconnected from the right flap actuation fitting. The right flap rod end mounting bolt and washer were found lying on the snow under the airplane. No evidence of a safety wire was present on the mounting bolt or on the right flap actuation fitting.

An examination of the CAPS Rear Harness assembly revealed that both reefing line cutters had fired but the rear harness remained “snubbed.” The impact scars on the snow and Ice, and the damage to the aircraft indicated that touch-down occurred while the airplane was in a 40-50 degree nose-down attitude. This nose-down attitude is consistent with a touch-down prior to “tail drop.”

A review of maintenance records indicated that the right flap was reinstalled on August 3, 2011, at a Hobbs time of 66.4. According to maintenance manual procedures, the mounting bolt and washer hardware were to be torqued to a measured 50-70 inch pounds, then safety wired to the flap actuation fitting. An annual inspection was conducted on July 10, 2012 (163.9 Hobbs), a pre-buy inspection was conducted on November 5, 2012 (177.2 Hobbs) and the accident occurred with a Hobbs time of 278.0.


According to the Cirrus SR22T pilot operating handbook, the preflight checklist states to "inspect flap hinges, actuation arm, bolts, and cotter pins.....secure."


NTSB Identification: CEN13LA212 
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, March 29, 2013 in Alexandria, MN
Aircraft: CIRRUS SR22T, registration: N1967N
Injuries: 2 Minor,2 Uninjured.

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 March 29, 2013, about 1045 central daylight time, a Cirrus SR22T-0031 airplane, N1967N, was substantially damaged after impact with terrain (frozen lake) near the Chandler Field Airport (AXN), Alexandria, Minnesota. The private pilot and one of the three passengers sustained minor injuries. The airplane was registered to MWBS Holdings LLC and operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which originated from the Marv Skie-Lincoln County Airport (Y14), Tea, South Dakota at 0904.

While on pattern downwind to AXN, the pilot reported a loud noise during flap extension, followed by a roll of the airplane to the right. The pilot countered this roll with aileron inputs and initiated a climb. He then attempted to reduce the airplane’s rolling tendency by adjusting flap position. As his control of the airplane worsened, the pilot pulled the ballistic recovery system handle. The parachute deployed and the airplane descended onto a frozen lake.

During initial examination, the right flap rod end was found disconnected from the right flap actuation fitting. The right flap rod end mounting bolt and washer were found laying on the snow under the airplane. No safety wire was noted on the mounting bolt or on the right flap actuation fitting.



Cirrus SR22T (N1967N)  crashed on northwest Lake Latoka in Alexandria shortly after 10:30 a.m. Friday morning.



 
Douglas County sheriff's deputies looked into the cockpit of a plane that crashed on Lake Latoka Friday morning. 




More information has been released about a single-engine, fixed-wing airplane that crashed on northwest Lake Latoka in Alexandria shortly after 10:30 a.m. this morning. 

 No serious injuries were reported.

The pilot was Hamid Reza Abbasi, 54, from Alexandria and Edina. He was flying with his wife and their two juvenile children.

The plane, built by Cirrus Design Corporation, was en route to the Alexandria Airport when it crashed, according to a deputy at the scene.

The nose of the plane cracked through the ice, creating some open water.

Witnesses on shore reported hearing a plane's engine making sputtering noises, followed by a loud bang, which apparently came from the plane's parachute being deployed.

The plane is intact and didn't appear to have much damage, except for the front portion.

The family in the plane is reportedly from the Twin Cities area and the man works in Alexandria. The family was taken to the home of Alexandria Police Chief Rick Wyffels for temporary shelter.

A long-time resident on the lake noted that last year at this time, the ice was already off the lake and speculated that the crash could have been worse in open water.

The Alexandria Police Department and the Douglas County Sheriff's Office responded to the scene. The Douglas County Sheriff's Posse was also called in to secure the open water area.








ALEXANDRIA, Minn. - A single-engine, fixed-wing airplane crashed on northwest Lake Latoka in Alexandria shortly after 10:30 a.m. today.

 No serious injuries were reported.

The plane was en route to the Alexandria Airport when it crashed, according to a deputy at the scene.

The nose of the plane cracked through the ice, creating some open water.

Witnesses on shore reported hearing a plane's engine making sputtering noises, followed by a loud bang, which apparently came from the plane's parachute being deployed.

The plane is intact and didn't appear to have much damage, except for the front portion.

The family in the plane are reportedly from the Twin Cities area and the man works in Alexandria.

A long-time resident on the lake noted that last year at this time, the ice was already off the lake and speculated that the crash could have been worse in open water.

A news release has not been issued yet so no names are available.

The Alexandria Police Department and the Douglas County Sheriff's Office responded to the scene.


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