ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 39135
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| Date: | Tuesday 20 February 1996 |
| Time: | 12:43 LT |
| Type: |  Sukhoi Su-31 |
| Owner/operator: | Richard V. Massegee |
| Registration: | N31MX |
| MSN: | 03-03 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 11 hours |
| Engine model: | Voronezh M-14P |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Immokalee, FL -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Unknown |
| Departure airport: | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot was conducting a practice aerobatic flight, with two aerobatic pilots critiquing him from the ground. About ten minutes into the flight, the pilot initiated a pull toward the vertical with about 360 km/hr and 7 Gs, according to witnesses. This would have been well within the maximum airspeed and load specifications of 450 km/hr and 10 Gs, respectively. The right wing of the airplane separated during the pull up. The airplane entered a right roll and an uncontrolled descent, then it collided with the ground about 1 mile north of the airport. According to witnesses, the engine was developing power until impact, and the pilot did not announce any malfunctions or problems, prior to the wing failure. A postcrash ground fire consumed the fuselage. The unburned right wing was found about 3/4 mile east of the main wreckage. Testing of the wing spar was performed by the NTSB and MAK (Russian Investigative Authorities). Both agencies found numerous voids in the composite spar caps. The investigation revealed evidence that the curing process for the wing spar did not provide adequate vacuum pressure. There was evidence that during the curing process, the fibers separated from each other, which resulted in voids in the final composite material.
Probable Cause: the manufacturer's improper composite curing process, which resulted in wing spar voids and subsequent failure of the wing during aerobatic flight.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB ATL96FA051
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Oct-2008 10:30 | ASN archive | Added |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:23 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 09-Apr-2024 08:10 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Operator, Other fatalities, Source, Narrative, Accident report] |
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