Kolb TwinStar TSP-1, N217JM: Accident occurred June 13, 2019 at Hector Municipal Airport (1D6), Renville County, Minnesota

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. 

The National Transportation Safety Board did not travel to the scene of this accident.

Additional Participating Entities:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Minneapolis, Minnesota
Kolb Aircraft Company; London, Kentucky

https://registry.faa.gov/N217JM

Location: Hector, MN
Accident Number: CEN19LA176
Date & Time: 06/13/2019, 0950 CDT
Registration: N217JM
Aircraft: Kolb KOLB TWINSTAR TSP 1
Injuries: 1 None
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General Aviation - Personal 

On June 13, 2019, about 0950 central daylight time, an amateur-built Kolb Twinstar TSP-1, N217JM, experienced an inflight structural failure and landed hard at Hector Municipal Airport (1D6), Hector, Minnesota. The pilot was not injured and the airplane sustained substantial damage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident and no flight plan had been filed. The local flight had just departed 1D6 before the accident.

The responding Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector reported that the pilot had recently completed maintenance on the airplane on June 2, 2019 and was completing a maintenance test flight.

The pilot stated that he climbed to 500 ft above ground level and had been in the air about 15 minutes when the airplane began to oscillate up and down. He had difficultly maintaining control so he made a rapid descent toward the airport. During the rapid descent the oscillation and shaking reduced, but as he arrested the descent the airplane oscillated violently. The pilot made a hard landing on the grass runway.

A postaccident examination of the airframe revealed that the tubular empennage structure had fractured at the "H section" and was separated.

Figure 1 - Accident site

The fractured component was retained for metallurgical examination. 

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Make: Kolb
Registration: N217JM
Model/Series: KOLB TWINSTAR TSP 1 III
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Amateur Built: Yes
Operator: On file
Operating Certificate(s) Held: None 

Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Conditions at Accident Site:
Condition of Light:
Observation Facility, Elevation:
Observation Time:
Distance from Accident Site:
Temperature/Dew Point:
Lowest Cloud Condition:
Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction:
Lowest Ceiling:
Visibility:  
Altimeter Setting:
Type of Flight Plan Filed: None
Departure Point: Hector, MN (1D6)
Destination: Hector, MN (1D6)

Wreckage and Impact Information

Crew Injuries: 1 None
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 1 None
Latitude, Longitude: 44.730833, -94.716389 (est)