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14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, April 04, 2014 in Ocala, FL
Probable Cause Approval Date: 03/17/2015
Aircraft: HELPLING HELEN C TANGO 2, registration: N599WT
Injuries: 1 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.
Witnesses reported that the engine sounded smooth and continuous at “full” power throughout the takeoff. After the airplane climbed to about 20 ft above the runway, the left canopy suddenly “popped open” and began “flapping up and down.” The pilot reported that, in response, she reduced the engine power. The airplane then began “porpoising” before it entered a steep left bank and subsequently impacted grass on the left side of the runway in a left-wing-low attitude. The pilot egressed and then crawled away from the airplane and awaited assistance. The airplane was consumed by a postcrash fire.
The left canopy was found separated from the airplane outside the fire area. The handle was found in the “open” position. The pilot reported no mechanical deficiencies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. She stated that, although she had used a checklist during her preflight and pretakeoff activities, which included a checklist item to ensure the security of the canopy, she “could never know” if she had failed to secure the canopy latch or if the latch had somehow malfunctioned. Fire damage to the canopy frame and latch point in the fuselage precluded a determination of what caused the left canopy to open in flight.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The pilot's failure to maintain airplane control after the left cockpit canopy opened during takeoff for reasons that could not be determined due to fire damage.
On April 4, 2014, about 1620 eastern daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Helpling Tango 2, N599WT, was destroyed during collision with terrain and a subsequent post-crash fire after takeoff from Ocala International Airport (OCF), Ocala, Florida. The private pilot/owner/builder was seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight, which was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
Several witnesses provided statements to the police, and their statements were consistent throughout. Some said that their attention was drawn to the sound of the airplane's engine during its pre-takeoff run-up due to a "popping" sound; but reported that the engine sound was smooth and continuous at "full" power throughout the takeoff.
After takeoff, the airplane climbed about 20 feet above the runway when the left canopy opened "suddenly" and began "flapping up and down." The airplane began "porpoising" before it entered a steep left bank and subsequently impacted the ground in a left-wing-low attitude and a postcrash fire ensued.
The pilot's fiancé did not witness the accident, but responded immediately to the accident site where the pilot was found some distance from the airplane. He reported to both police and an NTSB investigator that the pilot stated the canopy opened unexpectedly.
Approximately three weeks after the accident, and while still recovering from her injuries, the pilot prepared a statement with the assistance of a friend. She reported that the canopy "popped open" at low altitude and she responded by reducing engine power. The airplane then impacted the grass on the left side of the runway and caught fire. The pilot egressed the airplane, crawled some distance away, and awaited assistance. She reported there were no mechanical deficiencies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Examination of photographs taken by the Ocala Police Department (OPD) revealed that the airplane came to rest upright. The engine compartment, instrument panel, cockpit, cabin area, and both wings were consumed by fire. The empennage appeared largely intact.
The pilot held a private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single engine land. Her most recent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) third class medical certificate was issued on September 27, 2012. The pilot reported 675 total hours of flight experience, of which 22 hours were in the accident airplane make and model.
According to FAA records, the airplane's airworthiness certificate was issued February 15, 2013. The airplane had accrued 12.5 total aircraft hours at the time of the accident.
According to the chief test pilot for the airplane kit manufacturer, incidents of the left canopy opening in flight had been reported to the company on three occasions, and all were on takeoff. None of the three events resulted in an accident. On one occasion, the canopy completely separated from the airplane. The pilot continued the takeoff, completed a traffic pattern, and subsequently landed without incident. The airplane was described as "easily controllable throughout the flight and landing." In the other two events, the takeoffs were aborted. According to the reports, in two of the events, the canopy was left unlatched prior to takeoff, and on the other occasion, the canopy was latched "improperly."
In a telephone interview, the manufacturer's vice president was asked if the company published a checklist for the Tango 2 airplane. He explained that the company offered a template, or outline checklist, but that it was impossible to produce a checklist appropriate to all individual airplanes, due to the variations in equipment selected by each owner/builder.
FAA Advisory Circular 90-89A, Amateur-Built Aircraft and Ultralight Flight Testing Handbook, Section 9: Paperwork; stated,
"Checklists: In addition to the assembly/airworthiness checklist previously discussed in section 7, the builder should prepare the following checklists: preflight; take-off/cruise; before starting; descent/before landing; starting the engine; after landing; before takeoff; securing the aircraft; and emergency procedures. A checklist to cover the above procedures may seem a tedious task, but it will only be the size of a 5x8 card -- similar to a checklist for a Cessna 150 or a Piper PA-28-140. NOTE: The amateur-builder should anticipate several revisions to the checklists."
In a telephone interview, the pilot/owner/builder explained that she did develop a checklist for the airplane, had it with her, and consulted it prior to the accident flight. She stated that one item on the checklist was to ensure the security of the canopy, but stated she "could never know" if she had neglected to secure the canopy, or if the latch had somehow malfunctioned.
During the accident the left canopy separated from the airplane and was found outside the fire area. The handle was found in the open position. The canopy frame and latch point in the fuselage were fire damaged.
http://registry.faa.gov/N599WT
NTSB Identification: ERA14LA180
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, April 04, 2014 in Ocala, FL
Aircraft: HELPLING HELEN C TANGO 2, registration: N599WT
Injuries: 1 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 April 4, 2014, about 1620 eastern daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Helpling Tango 2, N599WT, was destroyed during collision with terrain and a subsequent post-crash fire after takeoff from Ocala International Airport (OCF), Ocala, Florida. The private pilot/owner/builder was seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight, which was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The pilot was not immediately available for interview, as she was being treated for her injuries. Several witnesses provided statements to the police, and their statements were consistent throughout. Some said that their attention was drawn to the sound of the airplane's engine during its pre-takeoff run-up due to a "popping" sound; but reported that the engine sound was smooth and continuous at "full" power throughout the takeoff.
After takeoff, the airplane climbed about 20 feet above the runway when the left canopy opened "suddenly" and began "flapping up and down." The airplane began "porpoising" before it entered a steep left bank and subsequently impacted the ground in a left-wing-low attitude and a postcrash fire ensued.
The pilot's fiancé did not witness the accident, but responded immediately to the accident site where the pilot was found some distance from the airplane. He reported to both police and an NTSB investigator that the pilot stated the canopy opened unexpectedly.
The pilot held a private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single engine land. Her most recent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) third class medical certificate was issued on September 27, 2012. The pilot's total flight experience could not be immediately determined.
According to FAA records, the airplane was manufactured in 2013. Its maintenance records were not recovered, and neither its maintenance history nor its total time could be determined.
Examination of photographs taken by the Ocala Police Department revealed that the airplane came to rest upright. The engine compartment, instrument panel, cockpit, cabin area, and both wings were consumed by fire. The empennage appeared largely intact.
Helen Helpling with her Maule MT-7-235
June 2013
June 2013
It appears the canopy covering the cockpit on an experimental aircraft opened without warning, which may have caused it to crash and injure a 59-year-old Ocala woman who was piloting the aircraft on Friday.
According to a police report written by Detective Lenny Uptagraft of the Ocala Police Department, Helen Helpling, the pilot of the red Tango 2 single-engine plane, told her boyfriend Dennis Liebrecht that the plane’s canopy had opened unexpectedly on takeoff.
Helpling, who suffered burns to her hands and feet, was flown to UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville for treatment. On Saturday, a hospital spokesperson said Helpling was resting comfortably and recovering.
Reached by phone, Liebrecht would only say that his girlfriend had burns to her hands and feet.
The report noted that after the crash, Helpling exited the plane on her own.
Liebrecht, in his interview with Uptagraft, said Helpling had flown the plane to the Ocala International Airport on Thursday to have the radio repaired by Quest Avionics, which is located at the airport. The next day, Helpling and Liebrecht returned to the airport, where she was told the repairs had been completed.
The plane was filled up with fuel, and Helpling was preparing to fly to Shady Airport in Ocala. Liebrecht said Helpling’s plane was on runway 8-26, getting ready to depart, while he was driving away. He said he heard the plane “doing a run-up” before taking off, but by then, the plane was not visible to him.
Then, he said, an employee from Quest stopped him and told him that Helpling’s plane had crashed. Liebrecht said he left his vehicle and ran to the crash site. By then, Liebrecht said, his girlfriend was about 50 yards from the plane. He said he stayed with her until medical personnel arrived on scene.
While waiting for paramedics, he said Helpling told him that the “plane’s canopy had opened unexpectedly on takeoff,” according to the report.
Uptagraft then spoke to three witnesses — two of whom are mechanics and were working on a plane. They were in a hanger when the crash happened. The men told the detective that the aircraft engine was making an “unusual sound” at the time it was on the runway. One of the men said it made a “popping” noise; another said it sounded “like it had a bad magneto.”
Because of the funny noise coming from the engine, the men said they watched the plane. The men said the plane took off and went approximately 20 feet in the air when the left canopy suddenly opened. One of the men said the plane immediately began “porpoising,” or oscillating between upward and downward directions, before making a hard left turn with a steep bank, with the open canopy “flapping up and down.”
The plane, the report noted, continued in a “hard left bank” until it struck the ground, with its left wing tip in a grassy area.
Matt Grow, director of the airport, said the plane crashed about 1,500 feet south of the runway.
The men said they rushed to the crash site. They told Uptagraft that, despite their earlier observations about the plane’s engine sound, the aircraft appeared “under full power at the time of the crash.” They told the detective that they don’t think that engine failure played a role in the crash.
Some of the men’s statements matched what Danny Wilson, who was at the airport sitting in his car with his 2½-year-old grandson, said about the crash. Wilson and his grandson, who visit the airport to watch takeoffs and landings because the toddler is fascinated with planes, told the Star-Banner that the plane, which had a silver propeller, had taxied downed the runway past them, then turned and soared into the air. He said it was not more than 50 feet in the air when the wings turned vertically and the plane nose-dived into the ground.
Wilson said at first there was a lot of dust, then he heard an explosion and saw a ball of fire.
At 10:55 a.m. Saturday, Grow, airport officials and an official from the Federal Aviation Administration went to the crash area. There, the FAA official inspected the plane’s wreckage and debris thrown not far from the crash site. The FAA official took pictures and measurements, leaving the area at 11:15 a.m. without making a comment. He planned on visiting the OPD and fire officials to review their documents.
Grow said the plane will be moved sometime this week and it will be stored at the airport while FAA officials continue their investigation.
Records show the Tango 2 single-engine aircraft is considered an experimental aircraft and that this particular Tango 2 was registered under Helpling’s name.
Helpling is a data modeling specialist for an Orlando firm and received her pilot’s license in 2000. In an interview with a Star-Banner correspondent last year, Helpling said at the time that she had about 480 hours of flying experience and once owned two Cessnas.
Last summer, Helpling and co-pilot Sarah Morris placed eighth overall in the 2013 Air Race Classic in Pasco, Wash. The competition covered more than 2,000 miles in four days and ended in Fayetteville, Ark.
The competition was open only to female pilots, and at the time Helpling flew her Maule plane, a Classic Racer 24.
Source: http://www.ocala.com
The prop and debris from an aircraft are shown scattered across a field
on airport property and west of the main runway after a plane crash at
Ocala International Airport in Ocala, Fla. on Friday, April 4, 2014.
