ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 236879
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| Date: | Saturday 6 June 2020 |
| Time: | |
| Type: | Kolb Mark III Xtra |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Location: | Serpentine Airport (YSEN), Serpentine, WA -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Test |
| Departure airport: | Serpentine Airport, WA (YSEN) |
| Serpentine Airport, WA (YSEN) | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
The pilot was test flying the kit built aircraft. The first touch-and-go was completed without incident on a sealed runway. The second circuit was completed with a touch-and-go on the grass runway. After applying power and climbing, everything was normal until around 175 feet above ground when significant rudder aerodynamic flutter began. With airspeed at 80mph, the nose was pushed forward while reducing power the rudder pedals were oscillating severely and could not be contained. The pilot momentarily removed their feet from the rudder pedals to see if it would settle, but the flutter continued. The stick was stable with no vibration. The engine was cut to idle the rudder flutter continued. The rear of the aircraft was now vibrating the whole airframe and the pilot chose to push the plane back onto the ground. Touching down at high speed at approximately 125 feet before the boundary fence, full brakes were applied and the pilot attempted to ground-loop the aircraft to avoid or lessen the impact with the boundary fence. At approximately 20 feet from the fence, the left rudder pedal broke off under the high pressure of braking. The aircraft veered approximately 90 degrees to the right and impacted the corner section of the boundary fence. The nose impacted one of the three posts and the wing strut impacted the rail between the other two posts. The tail impacted the wire fence, breaking the left stabiliser off the tubular boom and severely damaging the lower part of the rudder. The nose was crushed up to the pilot's feet. On impact, the throttle was advanced due to the inertia of the impact. The pilot immediately reduced the power to idle and went through the shutdown procedures.
Sources:
https://www.raa.asn.au/safety/accident-and-defect-summaries/
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 10-Jun-2020 08:07 | Pineapple | Added |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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