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14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, June 15, 2013 in Altoona, PA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 07/30/2014
Aircraft: HAGERTY RV-7A, registration: N954CH
Injuries: 2 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 pilot reported that the airplane maintained 80 mph on final approach and slowed to 70 mph at touchdown. Upon touchdown on the main landing gear, the pilot reported that a wind gust occurred, and the airplane subsequently climbed and then landed hard on the nose landing gear, which bent under. The airplane then rolled off the runway onto grass and nosed over. The pilot reported no preimpact failure or malfunction that would have precluded normal operation. Both occupants reported having their lapbelts "snug" but not as tight as they could have been. Postaccident examination revealed that the nose landing gear was displaced and that a person's head with a similar sitting height as both occupants would have been about 1 inch below a crush line between the vertical stabilizer and the engine cowling. When the airplane inverted, both occupants struck their heads and sustained neck injuries that likely resulted from proximity of their heads to the canopy and might have been exacerbated by any slack in their restraints. Although postaccident measurements of the restraints confirm the occupants' statements that they were less than tight, anthropomorphic data for both occupants was not obtained, therefore; the amount of slack in either seat restraint was not conclusively determined.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The pilot's improper recovery from an encounter with a wind gust during landing, which resulted in a hard landing on, and displacement of, the nose landing gear and a subsequent runway excursion and noseover.
On June 15, 2013, about 1313 eastern daylight time, an amateur built Hagerty RV-7A, N954CH, registered to and operated by a private individual, nosed over during landing at Altoona-Blair County Airport (AOO), Altoona, Pennsylvania. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 personal flight from Falwell Airport (W24), Lynchburg, Virginia, to AOO. The airplane sustained substantial damage and the private pilot and one passenger sustained serious injuries. The flight originated from W24 about 1150.
The pilot stated that he announced his position on the common traffic advisory frequency when he was 10 miles from the destination airport and heard the pilot of an airplane announce the flight was departing runway 30. He asked the pilot of that airplane what runway the winds favored and continued his straight-in approach to runway 03. On final for the runway, with a mountain range on the right and the wind from the right, he encountered turbulence. As the flight descended closer he noticed the windsock and it showed a 7 to 10 knot wind and was extended ½ way out with some gusts.
He maintained 80 mph on final slowing to 70 mph at touchdown. On touchdown on the main landing gear a wind gust occurred and the airplane climbed, and then came down hard on the nose landing gear which bent under. The airplane rolled a good distance, riding on metal, and he thought about fire. The airplane started pulling to the left, and he reached over and pulled the mixture control and may have also turned off the electric thinking if he was off the runway and on grass there would be no sparks. The airplane went off the runway onto grass, and the nose landing gear dug in and the airplane nosed over. While hanging upside down he undid his 4-point restraint and an individual from the airport helped pull the canopy out of the way. He was able to crawl through a hole in the canopy and reached in and released his wife's 4-point restraint. She was able to get on her back, and he helped her out. By that time, the first responders arrived.
The pilot further stated that his restraint was "snug", but it could have been tighter meaning it was not as snug as it could have been, while the passenger (his wife) reported her restraint was not loose but not too tight. His sitting height is 34.5 inches and his wife's sitting height is 35 inches. He also stated there was no mechanical failure or malfunction that caused the accident.
A witness who is the pilot's brother reported the touchdown appeared smooth with no wobble or sway, but the airplane became airborne then, "came down very quickly" and veered to the left side of the runway. He reported seeing the nose-over and ran inside the terminal building where he called 911.
Inspection of the airplane following recovery by the FAA-IIC revealed the nose landing gear tire pressure was 37 psi, while the left and right main landing gear tire pressures were 47 psi each. The FAA-IIC also reported no apparent damage to the roll structure or seat restraints. The airplane was recovered for further examination.
Examination of the airplane following recovery was performed by several NTSB personnel. The inspection determined that a person with a sitting height ½ inch more than the pilot and the same as the passenger would have about 1 inch of clearance between the top of the subjects head and a line extending between the top of the vertical stabilizer to the engine cowling. The on-board GPS receiver was retained for read-out.
Read-out of the GPS receiver was performed by the NTSB Vehicle Recorder Division located in Washington, DC. The results of the read-out indicate that the entire accident flight was recorded. With respect to the final approach, at 1313:19, the airplane was about 474 feet past runway 03 threshold at 70 knots groundspeed. The successive GPS recorded data indicates that the while continuing over the runway the altitude increased slightly (agreed with pilot statement) while the groundspeed decreased to the lowest value (40 knots), then the altitude decreased and the groundspeed decreased to 11 knots with the location on the grass to the left side of the runway.
According to the current president of the designer of the airplane, the roll structure for airplanes with slider or tip-up type canopies is considered dual purpose in that it was designed to provide a support structure for the plexi-glass canopy and also to provide a degree of protection in the event of a nose-over. The president also reported that both structures were designed for the RV-6 and RV-6A airplanes in the '80's and have changed very little for the RV-7, RV-7A, RV-9 and RV-9A airplanes. The original designer did not recall doing any testing on either design, but both have proven to have very good track records in the field.
An aviation surface observation report taken at the accident airport at 1253, or approximately 20 minutes before the accident indicates in part that the wind was from 330 degrees at 8 knots; no gusts were reported.
http://registry.faa.gov/N954CH
NTSB Identification: ERA13LA288
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, June 15, 2013 in Altoona, PA
Aircraft: Hagerty RV-7A, registration: N954CH
Injuries: 2 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 June 15, 2013, about 1400 eastern daylight time, an amateur built Hagerty RV-7A, N954CH, registered to and operated by a private individual, nosed over during landing at Altoona-Blair County Airport (AOO), Altoona, Pennsylvania. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 personal flight from Lynchburg Regional Airport/Preston Glenn Field (LYH), to AOO. The airplane sustained substantial damage and the private pilot and one passenger sustained serious injuries. The time of departure from LYH was not determined.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration inspector-in-charge (FAA-IIC), after touchdown on runway 03, the airplane bounced, touched down, and then nosed-over coming to rest inverted on grass adjacent to the runway.
RV-7A, N954CH
Photo Courtesy and Credit: Patrick Waksmunski, Altoona Mirror
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MARTINSBURG - A pilot and his passenger were hurt Saturday when the pilot lost control of his experimental aircraft, which turned upside down upon landing at the Altoona-Blair County Airport.
The pilot, believed to be aircraft owner Charles J. Hagerty of Goode, Virginia, and his passenger were transported by ambulance to Nason Hospital, Roaring Spring, for treatment of minor injuries.
The Martinsburg Volunteer Fire Department and DeGol Aviation personnel assisted in the efforts to contain the aircraft's fuel and used ropes to pull the single-engine aircraft upright, then onto its wheels.
"We think the plane was landing when its front landing gear doubled back," Martinsburg Volunteer Fire Chief Randy Acker said Saturday. "It went off the macadam and dug into the grass."
The crash occurred shortly after 1 p.m., and its cause will be investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Airport personnel said they believed the couple were expected to land at the airport and that people had been waiting for them.
After the pilot and his passenger got out of the aircraft, Acker said firefighters set up a foam blanket around the wreckage to contain the vapors of leaking fuel.
"We had the airport close the north/south runway for a while," Acker said, "But planes could still land on the east/west runway."
Altoona-Blair County Airport Authority Chairman Lanny Ross, who was at the airport Saturday, said he heard "quite a few" approaching planes while the firefighters were working. As soon as the crashed aircraft was towed from the runway to the DeGol Aviation hangar, two planes landed.
Story, Photo, Video: http://www.altoonamirror.com
A small airplane accident happened around 1:00pm Saturday afternoon.
The plane was upside down on the runway of the Altoona-Blair County Airport.
Dispatch says the two people in the plane at the time had minor injuries and were taken to the hospital.
It is unclear who the passengers were or how the plane crashed.
First responders lined the runway and surrounded the plane as it was upside down.
They were able to flip the plane back into position and then pulled it away to a near-by garage.
The plane’s frame was dented and the windows were shattered.
Crews looked for pieces of metal and glass left behind that could pose as a safety hazard for other planes.
Airport Authority member Gary Orner said a crash like this is rare.
"The accidents that you see so not happen very often, very rare in their nature," he said.
Orner said first responders and airport officials are no strangers to crashes like this. They are trained to know how to respond.
"So if something like this does happen, we are prepared for it. Its not like it catches us by surprise,” he said
The FAA will contact the National Transportation Safety Board and depending on the severity of the situation, they will send an official out to observe the airplane.
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