NTSB Identification: CEN15LA329
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Thursday, July 30, 2015 in Sulphur Springs, TX
Probable Cause Approval Date: 08/28/2017
Aircraft: O'DELL AEROMASTER, registration: N55J
Injuries: 1 Fatal.
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 private pilot had purchased the experimental amateur-built airplane about 2 weeks before the accident. The previous owner had provided the pilot with a 1-hour familiarization flight, during which he repeatedly told the pilot not to lean the mixture control on takeoff. During takeoff on the familiarization flight, the pilot leaned the mixture, resulting in a total loss of engine power while still on the runway. After advancing the mixture control, the engine restarted and they continued the flight. The pilot again leaned the mixture control at altitude, which resulted in the engine running rough.
Following the familiarization flight, the pilot departed to an unknown destination, and, during that flight, he landed at an en route airport due to a rough-running engine. Maintenance personnel at the airport found that the airplane had 26 mechanical discrepancies and was unairworthy. Two mechanics and two experimental aircraft builders told the pilot that the airplane was unsafe and should be taken apart and "trailered" home. The mechanic repaired a leaking brake, replaced all of the spark plugs, serviced the oil, and ran the engine. During the postmaintenance engine run, the magnetos were checked and appeared to function properly, and the engine ran smoothly. The pilot then departed on the accident flight. The mechanic stated that the airplane experienced a total loss of engine power about 200 ft above ground level and the airplane entered a left turn, which subsequently developed into a stall/spin. The airplane completed about 1/4 turn in the spin before impacting terrain.
Postaccident examination was precluded by damage sustained in the postcrash fire. The investigation was unable to determine if the loss of engine power occurred due to the pilot's improper manipulation of the engine controls, or if there was a mechanical malfunction.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
A total loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined because postimpact damage precluded a thorough examination of the airplane. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to maintain control following the loss of engine power, which resulted in the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack and experiencing an aerodynamic stall/spin.
David L. German
The National Transportation Safety Board did not travel to the scene of this accident.
Additional Participating Entity:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Irving, Texas
Aviation Accident Factual Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf
Investigation Docket - National Transportation Safety Board: https://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms
http://registry.faa.gov/N55J
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Thursday, July 30, 2015 in Sulphur Springs, TX
Aircraft: O'DELL AEROMASTER, registration: N55J
Injuries: 1 Fatal.
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 July 30, 2015, at 1941 central daylight time, an experimental amateur-built O'Dell Aeromaster, N55J, experienced a total loss of engine power and impacted terrain during climb after takeoff from runway 1 (5,001 feet by 75, concrete) at Sulphur Springs Municipal Airport (SLR), Sulphur Springs, Texas. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and post-crash fire. The private pilot sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was recently purchased by the pilot but was still registered to the previous airplane owner. The airplane was operated by the pilot under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight that was not operating on a flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The flight was originating at the time of the accident and was en route to an unknown destination.
Witnesses observed the airplane taxi to the runway and take off, not performing any preflight or engine run-up. The engine ran smoothly until the aircraft was 200 feet above ground level, back-fired and experienced a total loss of engine power. The pilot maintained the same nose-up attitude and turned to the left, causing the left wing to stall. The airplane stalled entered a ½ turn stall-spin toward the left and impacted the ground, left wing and nose first.
A Federal Aviation Administration Aviation Safety Inspector stated that about two weeks prior to the accident the pilot purchased the accident airplane from the previous airplane owner in Lufkin, Texas, located about 150 miles south of SLR. The previous owner explained the very sensitive engine mixture controls and warned the pilot several times not to lean the engine on takeoff and never below 3,000 feet mean sea level (msl). The previous owner stated that the pilot did not seem to pay attention to his instructions and appeared distracted. The previous owner stated that the pilot mentioned that he could not understand why the engine should not be leaned on takeoff because the pilot said that he always had to lean the mixture on takeoff when he flew other airplane(s). The previous owner explained to the pilot that Lufkin,Texas, was only at 450 feet above msl, not the 4,500 feet msl the pilot was used to.
The previous owner stated that the pilot did not want any instruction in the airplane, but the previous owner insisted and took the pilot for a one-hour familiarization flight in the airplane. The previous owner stated that during the familiarization flight, the pilot leaned the mixture on takeoff, the engine quit. The previous owner pushed the mixture control back to full rich, the engine started, and the flight continued. The pilot leaned the mixture again during the flight, below 3,000 feet msl, causing the engine to run rough. The previous owner, again, returned to mixture control to full rich, and the engine smoothed out. The pilot, again, was told by the previous owner not to lean the mixture below 3,000 feet msl and never on takeoff.
The previous owner stated that the pilot was "… ancy [sic] and in a hurry to leave". The previous owner stated that the pilot did not have any aviation navigation sectional charts in his possession. The pilot did not preflight the aircraft prior to the departing flight and did not check weather nor file a flight plan for his departure from Lufkin, Texas. The pilot then landed at SLR and reported the engine was running rough to maintenance personnel located at the airport.
On July 18, 2015, an aircraft mechanic at the SLR examined the airplane and engine and made the following observations:
1. Both airspeed indicators indicate 50 miles per hour while in the hangar.
2. Gascolator leaking fuel.
3. Exhaust leak at number 1 cylinder.
4. No emergency locator transmitter installed in the airplane.
5. No fuel shutoff on the top fuel tank.
6. No fuel quantity indicators.
7. No master switch or circuit breakers.
8. Brake fluid around the right tire. Found the brake piston installed backwards, causing the O-ring to leak.
9. All of the aileron trailing edges were broken away from the aileron ribs.
10. Flying wires and landing wires were too loose.
11. No javelins on wires.
12. No battery master switch installed. The electrical power was always "on".
13. A two sided switch was installed for the starter. One side was "momentary on" and the other switch was glued in place, not functioning.
14. The required "EXPERMENTAL" placard was not installed as required by the Operating Limitations assigned at the time the Special (Experimental) Airworthiness Certificate was issued.
15. A bushing was made by tying a knot in clothes line rope on the throttle shaft in order to act as a travel stop.
16. All installed safety wire were too small and many times backwards.
17. All cotter keys too small for the fasteners.
18. Landing gear bungees too soft and worn out.
19. Right lower wing had a broken rib.
20. The engine had three different types of spark plugs installed, all worn beyond limits and oil fouled.
21. The number 5 cylinder, lower spark plug was found to be finger tight.
22. The engine was 5 quarts low on oil.
23. Various hardware missing from the engine cowling.
24. Fuel line fittings were aluminum, not steel.
25. Fuel lines were hydraulic hoses, not fuel lines.
26. The carburetor was installed backwards.
The mechanic was asked by the pilot to "annual" the aircraft. The mechanic refused, stating that the airplane was in too rough of condition and should be completely dismantled and rebuilt. The pilot was told by two certificated mechanics and two other experiential aircraft builders that the aircraft was unsafe and should be taken apart and "trailered" home.
The mechanic repaired the leaking brake and replaced all of the spark plugs, serviced the oil and ran the engine. The magnetos were checked and appeared to function properly. The engine started easily and appeared to run smoothly.
On July 30, 2015, the pilot pumped 19.7 gallons of fuel into the top fuel tank and asked the mechanic if he would fly with him. The mechanic refused and again told the pilot not to fly the aircraft.
The airplane was destroyed by a post-crash fire. Impact forces and post-crash fire precluded functional testing of the airplane, engine, and its accessories.
The pilot's last airman medical certificate was issued January 2000 and at that time the pilot reported a total of 151 flight hours.
Updated: Aug 04, 2015 3:24 PM EDT
UPDATE: Multiple sources confirm to CBS 19 that a Nebraska pilot has died.
David Lee German, 46, from Nebraska passed away at a Parkland Hospital in Dallas.
UPDATE - 10:25 a.m. Friday
Sulphur Springs police have identified the pilot injured Thursday night in a biplane crash.
The pilot, David Lee German, 46, from Nebraska suffered burns to 92% of his body when he made an emergency landing at Sulphur Springs Municipal Airport, according to Sulphur Springs Police Chief Jay Sanders. He was taken by air ambulance to Parkland Hospital in Dallas where he remains in critical condition.
No one else was on-board the plane at the time of the crash.
According to Sanders, witnesses told police that German had been having problems with the biplane for several weeks and had been working on it in a hangar at Sulphur Springs Municipal Airport that belonged to a friend.
The FAA is overseeing the investigation, according to Sanders. CBS 19 reached out to the agency and is awaiting a response.
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Original Story:
SULPHUR SPRINGS (KYTX) - A pilot was hospitalized after a biplane crash at the Sulphur Springs Municipal Airport Thursday night.
Airport management tells CBS19 it happened around 7:30 p.m. A pilot had to make an emergency landing shortly after taking off from the airport.
The plane caught fire when it crashed. The pilot was care-flighted to a Dallas hospital with unknown injuries.
The Federal Aviation Administration has been notified of this crash.
The identity of the pilot has not been released.
SULPHUR SPRINGS, TX (KLTV) - Police have identified a pilot injured in a Thursday night plane crash at Sulphur Springs Municipal Airport.
Sulphur Springs police say David German, 46, of Nebraska, was airlifted to Parkland Hospital in Dallas. The department said Friday morning that German's status was believed to be critical. German was the only person onboard the plane.
The Federal Aviation Administration said that a single-engine O'Dell Aeromaster biplane crashed about 7:40 p.m. Thursday, while taking off from the airport. The aircraft was destroyed by fire.
Police Chief Jay Sanders said the man received burns to 100 percent of his body.
Witnesses reported to police that the man had experienced trouble with the plane over the past few weeks and had been doing repairs on the aircraft in a hangar belonging to his friend in Sulphur Springs, said Sanders.
Source: http://www.kltv.com
Man identified as 47yo David A German of Imperial, Nebraska. Former neighbor of mine up here in Milton VT. We received information this morning via text from his ex-wife, now residing in So. Carolina. The outlook is grim for survival. Mr. German lost a brother in a plane crash in Nebraska a few years ago while working on the family ranch in Imperial. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family at this difficult time.
ReplyDeleteHe was also a registered sex offender for life. Look it up. Lewd & Lascivious conduct with a child, convicted 11/03/2011.
ReplyDelete