N91MS

On May 15, 1999, at 1400 central daylight time, an Extra Flugzeugbau GMBH EA 300/L experimental airplane, N91MS, was substantially damaged during a go-around at the Jackson County Airport near Edna, Texas. The airplane was registered to and operated by Air Bonanza, Inc., of Austin, Texas. The airline transport rated pilot, sole occupant of the airplane, received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 aerobatic flight and a flight plan was not filed. The local flight originated from the Jackson County Airport at 1345.

The 10,663-hour pilot was participating in an aerobatic competition. According to the operator and the pilot, the airplane departed from runway 26, and the pilot performed a series of aerobatic maneuvers. Upon completion of the maneuvers, the pilot landed the airplane on runway 14. The pilot stated that during the "roll out [his] right foot slipped off of the rudder pedal and [he] lost directional control [of the airplane]." The operator added that the pilot "appeared to have lost directional control approximately 1/3 of the way down the runway."

Witnesses, who were spectators and judges of the competition, reported that the airplane initially "touched down and bounced," and then drifted to the left of the runway centerline. The pilot then "added power," and the airplane was observed in a "nose high attitude." The airplane attained an altitude of approximately 20 feet agl, and the "left wing dipped down." Subsequently, the left wing contacted the ground, and the airplane began to cartwheeel. The engine separated from the airframe, and the airplane came to a stop upright in a milo field.

At 1453, the weather observation facility at the Victoria Regional Airport, Victoria, Texas, (located 20 miles southwest of the accident site) reported the following conditions: clear skies, visibility 10 miles, and wind from 160 degrees at 15 knots gusting to 19 knots.

The pilot stated that both wings, including both wing spars, sustained structural damage. He added that the vertical stabilizer and horizontal stabilizer were also structurally damaged.