ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 157853
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Monday 29 July 2013 |
| Time: | 13:20 |
| Type: |  Folland Gnat T1 |
| Owner/operator: | Foogair Inc |
| Registration: | N18GT |
| MSN: | XS105 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1963 |
| Engine model: | Rolls Royce ORPHEOUS |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | about 100 yards off Highway 17, S of Georgetown Airport, South Carolin -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Charleston, WV (CRW) |
| Georgetown, SC (GGE) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Witnesses at the airport reported that the pilot radioed them while on approach to let them know he was coming in to land, and they went outside to view the landing. The airplane crossed over the midfield of the airport and entered a right downwind. The airplane then made a high-speed flyby over the runway between 100 and 200 ft above ground level. At the end of the runway, the airplane pitched up about 30 degrees and began rolling left. According to the witnesses, the first 180 degrees of the aileron roll was “perfect,” but, when the airplane reached about the 190-degree point, it abruptly pitched down to the right and collided with the ground. A postcrash fire ensued.
Postcrash fire damage precluded a determination of whether a hydraulic system failure led to the loss of the tailplane/elevator pitch control. However, examination of the two switches on the control stick that operate the electric standby tailplane trim system, which can be used in the event of a hydraulic failure, revealed that the nose-down side of the right switch was inoperative. If a hydraulic failure occurred and this switch was inoperative, the pilot would not have had full tailplane authority during his aerobatic flight maneuver. Although the airplane was equipped with an additional, independent switch that would have allowed control of the tailplane/elevator in the event that this switch failed, the functionality of this switch could not be determined due to damage. Regardless of whether a mechanical problem initiated the pitch anomaly, the low altitude at which the pilot performed the flight maneuver allowed insufficient time for him to regain airplane control before the airplane impacted the ground.
Probable Cause: The loss of airplane control for reasons that could not be determined due to postcrash fire damage. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s decision to perform an aerobatic maneuver at low altitude, which did not allow sufficient time for him to regain airplane control.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
3. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N18GT
FAA register: 5. http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=18GT
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 29-Jul-2013 15:09 | gerard57 | Added |
| 29-Jul-2013 19:47 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type] |
| 29-Jul-2013 19:49 | harro | Updated [Registration, Operator, Source] |
| 29-Jul-2013 19:52 | harro | Updated [Cn, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative] |
| 08-Aug-2013 01:40 | Geno | Updated [Time, Phase, Source, Narrative] |
| 02-Aug-2015 21:19 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Location, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 02-Aug-2015 21:19 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 02-Aug-2015 21:22 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Embed code] |
| 02-Aug-2015 21:28 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:28 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 29-Nov-2017 08:50 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Cn, Operator, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation