14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Monday, February 17, 2014 in Wellington, FL
Probable Cause Approval Date: 12/09/2015
Aircraft: WILLIAMS CHRISTOPHER T SONEX, registration: N732SX
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 had just departed the airport; one witness reported that during the initial climb the engine “sputtered,” and another reported that it “backfired.” The pilot then made a steep turn back toward the airport, but the airplane stalled and spiraled to the ground. The airplane was equipped with an electronic flight instrument system that recorded numerous engine and flight parameters. Review of the downloaded data revealed that, initially, the engine was operating normally and within design parameters. However, toward the end of the recorded data, the No. 1 cylinder head and exhaust gas temperatures had begun to decrease while the other cylinder temperature parameters remained fairly constant. The engine data then recorded a decrease in engine rpm followed by a steep 180-degree turn toward the airport. A witness who assisted the pilot with the airplane’s oil change 2 days earlier stated that the pilot had cross-threaded a spark plug in the No. 1 cylinder and attempted a helicoil repair. During examination after the accident, the No. 1 sparkplug was easily removed by hand. This was likely the cause of the power loss that preceded the pilot’s attempt to return to the airport. The pilot’s steep, 180-degree turn exceeded the airplane’s critical angle of attack, which resulted in a stall at low altitude and collision with terrain. A review of the pilot’s toxicology revealed that even though he tested positive for antidepressants, they were not a factor in the accident.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed following a partial loss of engine power during initial climb, which led to the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack and experiencing an aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's improper repair of a stripped spark plug hole, which led to a partial loss of engine power during initial climb.
HISTORY OF FLIGHT
On February 17, 2014, about 1250 eastern standard time, an experimental, amateur-built Sonex, N732SX, collided with terrain shortly after departing the Wellington Aero Club (FD38), West Palm Beach, Florida. The airline transport pilot/owner was fatally injured, and the airplane was destroyed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The flight was originating at the time of the accident.
Witnesses stated that during the initial climb, the engine "back- fired" and made a "sputtering" sound. The pilot entered a steep 180 degree turn back towards the airport. The airplane then stalled and entered a nose-down spiral, descended into a canal.
PERSONNEL INFORMATION
The pilot, age 58, held an airline transport pilot certificate for airplane multiengine land, airplane single-engine land, rotorcraft-helicopter, instrument helicopter, which was issued February 16, 2008, and a first-class airman medical certificate issued February 6, 2012, with no limitations. On the pilot's most recent application for a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) medical certificate, he reported a total of 13,000 flight hours. The pilot's logbook was not recovered; therefore, his total flight experience could not be determined.
AIRCRAFT INFORMATION
The single engine airplane was manufactured in 2007, and was powered by an AeroVee series engine and equipped with a Sensenich model W54JV544G-AC9751, fixed-pitch propeller. The maintenance logbooks were not located; therefore, the maintenance history of the airplane could not be reconciled.
METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION
At 1253, the recorded weather at Palm Beach International Airport (PBI), West Palm Beach, Florida, about 10 miles east of the accident site, included variable wind 6 knots, 10 statute miles visibility, few clouds at 4,300 feet above ground level. The temperature was 21 degrees Celsius (C), the dew point was 11 degrees C, and the altimeter setting was 30.19 inches of mercury.
WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION
The wreckage was located partially submerged in a pond, about 200 yards from the departure end of runway 15. The airplane came to rest on a 109 degree magnetic heading, and was 3 feet from the pond's edge. The airplane was removed from the pond for examination, and all major components of the airplane were accounted for at the accident site.
The forward portion of the fuselage, firewall and cockpit were deformed and displaced aft. Both wings remained attached to the fuselage and were crushed along the leading edge aft. The vertical stabilizer, elevators and rudder remained attached to the empennage. Control continuity was traced from the cockpit control stick to the elevators and ailerons and from the rudder pedals to the rudder control horn. The examination of the flight control system components revealed no evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunction.
Examination of the engine revealed that it was separated from the firewall with sections of engine mount still attached and bent. The engine revealed impact damage on multiple areas on the external surface. Further examination revealed that the ignition lead wires were all attached to the respective sparkplugs and separated from the coil packs on the firewall. Examination of the wires revealed no breaks or chaffed sparkplug wires.
Examination of the sparkplugs revealed that the top spark plug on cylinder No. 1 was not seated in the cylinder head and finger tight within the cylinder head threads. The lower sparkplug was found seated to the cylinder and secure. The engine cylinders revealed that the top sparkplug, associated with cylinder No. 4, top sparkplug was seated and finger tight. All other sparkplugs were found seated within the cylinders and secure. All of the spark plugs were removed and the cylinders were checked for blockage. No blockage was noted and the crankshaft was rotated freely by hand. Engine valve train continuity and thumb compression was observed on all cylinders.
The throttle body revealed that it was still attached to the throttle cables, but broken away from the manifold. The throttle body lever actuated when the throttle control was manipulated. The air filter was found crushed and impact damaged. The fuel line was connected to the throttle body and was impact damaged and separated from the electric fuel pump attached to the firewall. Examination of the accessory plate revealed that it was impact damaged. The oil cooler was crushed and the oil flow input and output lines remained attached. The oil lines were broken away from the oil pump and oil was within the lines and the oil sump can.
The propeller remained attached to the propeller hub and the hub remained attached to the crankshaft. The wooden propeller revealed that one propeller blade was splintered, and the other propeller blade displayed span-wise cracks across the forward face.
MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION
An autopsy was performed on the pilot on February 18, 2014, by Office of the District Medical Examiner, District 15 State of Florida, West Palm Beach, Florida.
Toxicological testing was performed on the pilot by the FAA Bioaeronautical Science Research Laboratory, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Review of the toxicology report revealed, no carbon monoxide was detected in the cavity blood. No ethanol was detected in the vitreous. The following drugs were detected in the blood cavity; 0.091 (ug/ml, ug/g) Citalopram and 0.04 (ug/mL, ug/g) N-Desmethylcitalopram detected in blood cavity. Citalopram and Desmethylcitalopram is an antidepressant drug used to treat depression.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
According to a friend of the pilot, he assisted the pilot during an oil change two days prior to the accident. He stated that while conducting the oil change the pilot attempted to change the sparkplugs and cross-threaded the upper sparkplug on the No. 1 cylinder; and made an attempt to helicoil the cylinder thread. The friend further stated that he inspected the sparkplug and noted that the sparkplug along with the helicoil were able to be pulled out of the cylinder head. The pilot continued to work on the engine but the friend did not know if the pilot eventually repaired the cylinder head or if the pilot had flown the airplane after the repair, prior to the accident flight. During the examination of the engine a helicoil was not observed within the cylinder head threads of the No. 1 sparkplug.
The airplane was equipped with a Stratomaster Enigma electronic flight instrument system (EFIS) that is capable of recording primary flight data, GPS positions and engine monitor data. The device supports data recording to a secured digital (SD) card. The SD card was recovered and sent to the NTSB Vehicle Recorder Division for data recovery. Review of the data revealed that all engine parameters were normal during the initial climb. Further review revealed that the No. 1 cylinder head and exhaust gas temperature dropped approximately 100 degrees, followed by a loss in rpm and a loss in airspeed. GPS data then showed the airplane making a banking left turn as described by witnesses.
WELLINGTON, FLORIDA -
Leonard McGarity flew countless miles during a quarter-century as an American Airlines pilot, captaining the most sophisticated planes in commercial aviation.
But in his spare time, the 58-year-old McGarity enjoyed outings in his SUV-sized, experimental amateur-built aircraft, taking off and landing on an airstrip within throwing distance from his home at the Wellington Aero Club.
McGarity, a father of two, was killed on impact recently when his Sonex single-engine plane plunged nose first into a golf course pond.
"With aircraft, people always want to know: Why are they falling out of the sky?" said Scott Thatcher, an engineer from Palm Beach Gardens who has flown planes for 60-plus years. "But they're not. It's just that it happens so infrequently that when they do, it's of major interest."
It's of particular interest when accidents involve planes like the one owned by McGarity, which are delivered in boxes via semi-trailer trucks, cost as little as $25,000 and can be assembled by anyone with a monkey wrench and a garage. Categorized as "experimental" by the Federal Aviation Administration, the planes are limited to recreational, noncommercial purposes and must have at least 51 percent of assembly completed by an amateur builder.
Flying afficionados fear that words like "experimental" and "amateur-built" give the public the wrong impression. They point out that planes like McGarity's undergo rigorous FAA inspections and must fly for up to 40 hours over unpopulated areas before they are deemed airworthy. Pilots are required to maintain the same training and ratings as those that fly such production aircraft as Cessnas or Beechcrafts.
William Perry, a technical counselor for the Experimental Aircraft Association and an engineer at Pratt & Whitney in Jupiter, said home-built planes "are not scary at all."
"Most experimental airplanes that I've inspected have superb workmanship," said Perry, who has home-built five planes himself. "The guy building that plane knows he's going to put his butt and his family on that airplane and go flying with it. So why would he cut corners and do stupid things?"
An average home-built plane will take anywhere between 1,000 and 3,000 hours to construct, according to industry insiders. While they can be assembled within a year, former U.S. Navy pilot Kenneth Kopp spent 21 months and about $80,000 customizing his RV-8 plane that he's flown for 500 hours and used on cross-country trips.
"The word experimental makes some people nervous because they envision some uneducated guy in his garage with his hammer and blow torch hodge-podging things together," said Kopp, a helicopter test pilot in Jupiter. "But, by and large, the experimental market is represented by lots of professional, well-educated, very meticulous kinds of people who put their heart and soul into their airplanes.
Kopp points out that all planes, from Orville and Wilbur Wright's flying machine to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, began as experimental.
"If it wasn't for experimental planes, we wouldn't have aviation today," Kopp said. "It's part of the normal development process for flying."
But are experimental aircraft safe?
Individual owners insist they are, although the numbers are somewhat mixed.
A 2012 study by the National Transportation Safety Board revealed that amateur-built aircraft made up nearly 10 percent of U.S. general aviation planes in 2011, but accounted for 15 percent of all accidents and slightly more than 20 percent of fatal accidents. But the FAA reported last year that from Oct. 1, 2012, to Sept. 30, 2013, fatal crashes in experimental planes dropped to 35 from 50 compared with the previous 12 months.
There are about 33,000 home-built aircraft registered in the United States and about 1,000 new planes added to the rolls each year, according to industry sources. With production aircraft costing about $250,000, along with thousands more in annual maintenance fees, the popularity of experimentals isn't expected to wane any time soon even after accidents like the one that cost McGarity his life.
"There are thousands of experimental aircraft out there being flown for thousands of hours, and when one person has something like this happen, the planes get a huge bad rap," said Dr. Jeff Johnson, dean of Lynn University's School of Aeronautics and an Air Force fighter pilot for 15 years. "But they really are very safe airplanes, and the people that fly them are typically very safe."
People who get themselves in trouble in home-built planes are generally pilots with "a lot of flying experience that want to go out and do more stuff than the airplane was ever designed to do," Johnson said.
It will be months before the NTSB determines what caused McGarity's plane to crash. Friends speculate that a mechanical problem likely caused the crash.
Story and photo: http://www.theledger.com
http://registry.faa.gov/N732SX
NTSB Identification: ERA14FA123
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Monday, February 17, 2014 in Wellington, FL
Aircraft: WILLIAMS CHRISTOPHER T SONEX, registration: N732SX
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 17, 2014, about 1250 eastern standard time, an experimental, amateur built, Williams Sonex, N732SX, collided with terrain during an uncontrolled descent after departing the Wellington Aero Club (FD38), West Palm Beach, Florida. The airline transport pilot was fatally injured, and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight was originating from FD38 at the time of the accident.
According to witnesses, as the airplane climbed after takeoff the engine backfired and began to sputter. The airplane made a steep 180 degree left turn, back towards the airport and went into a nose down attitude. The airplane began to spiral downward and collided with a pond. Witnesses attempted to assist the pilot and reported the downed airplane to the local 911 operator at 1255.
The wreckage was located partially submerged in a pond 3 feet deep, 200 yards from the departure end of runway 15. The airplane was on a 109 degree magnetic heading, and was 3 feet from the ponds edge. The airplane was removed from the pond for examination, and all major components of the airplane were accounted for at the accident site. Examination of the airplane revealed that the engine was separated from the firewall, impact damaged, and still attached to the engine mounts. The cockpit, fuselage, wings, and empennage were impact damaged. Flight control continuity from the cockpit controls to the flight control surfaces was confirmed. A cursory examination of the engine confirmed valve train continuity and compression on all cylinders.
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