Amateur-built S-9 N463NB accident near Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania

Probable cause

The pilot’s excessive flight control inputs that resulted in an overload failure of the right elevator and horizontal stabilizer.

NTSB analysis

The certificated sport pilot was performing slow flight and turns at 4,000 feet. A friend who assisted the pilot in building the airplane was watching the flight and communicating with the pilot using a hand-held radio. The friend observed the airplane pitch down and enter a right spiral. He told the pilot to get the nose up. The spiral ceased and the nose began to come up, but not enough, so he again told the pilot to get the nose up. As the nose came up, he observed something red and silver come off the airplane; he believed these parts were the right elevator and one of the wing struts. The nose again dropped and the airplane spiraled toward the ground. As the airplane descended, the friend saw a wing break and instructed the pilot to get out of the airplane. The autopsy report stated that the pilot bailed out of the airplane; however, the ejection was too low for the pilot’s parachute to open effectively and he sustained fatal injuries. The right elevator was found a quarter mile from the main wreckage. The left wing was found 75 to 80 feet from the main wreckage. Information provided by the pilot’s wife revealed that the pilot purchased the airplane partially assembled, and completed its manufacture over five years. The airplane had accumulated about 52 hours of flight time at the time of the accident. An examination of the wreckage revealed that all structural failures were consistent with static, aerodynamic overload starting in the right elevator as a result of inputs to the flight controls. No evidence of substandard structure or fatigue was found.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA09LA492 for the full record.