N978CT

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On November 17, 2010, at 1306 mountain standard time, a Diamond DA20-C1, N978CT, descended vertically in a spin or spiral and impacted terrain in Payson, Utah. The airplane was operated by Utah Valley University (UVU) Aviation Science Department under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The commercial pilot/certified flight instructor and a student pilot were killed, and the airplane was substantially damaged. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a company flight plan had been filed. The instructional flight originated at Provo Municipal Airport, Provo, Utah, at 1245.

Witnesses reported hearing and seeing the airplane descend vertically in a spiral or spin making numerous rotations before impacting the driveway of a residence. Sounds consistent with engine operation during the descent were also reported. The airplane was operating below the radar coverage area. No radio distress call was received by local air traffic control agencies or the dispatcher monitoring the Utah Valley University base frequency at Provo Airport.

The certified flight instructor (CFI) had flown 28 flights with the student since January 27, 2009. The student pilot was preparing for his final (end of course) private pilot check flight. Maneuvers being practiced on this flight were stalls, slow flight, and landing pattern. The aircraft wreckage was located directly under a designated practice area (practice area D). The aircrew had called on the common base frequency and coordinated the use of high altitude practice area D. The floor of the working area is 7,000 feet mean sea level (msl), and the upper altitude limit is 10,000 feet msl. The terrain elevation is approximately 4,530 feet msl. According to the flight school Director of Operations, typical work done in the high altitude working areas are stalls, slow flight, and steep turns.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

The certified flight instructor, age 34, held a commercial pilot certificate for airplane single-engine land, airplane multiengine land, instrument airplane, and a flight instructor certificate for airplane single-engine, and instrument airplane. She was issued a first-class medical certificate on August 8, 2008, with no limitations. Examination of copies of the CFI’s logbook showed that she had accumulated 869.8 hours of flight time with 512.7 hours of that as dual instruction given. During the 30 days prior to the accident she had accumulated 9.2 hours of flight time, with 8.4 of those hours as dual instruction. Within the previous 90 days the CFI had flown 4 times with the student she was instructing. She had flown 6 flights in 2003 where spins were noted as having been performed, and she had a logbook endorsement for instructional proficiency for stall awareness, spin entry, spins, and spin recovery, dated August 5, 2003. There were no other logbook entries noting that spins had been performed or practiced after August 5, 2003. The CFI had received her flight review on September 10, 2010, and flew a night currency flight on October 21, 2010; both flights were flown with the flight school's chief instructor for the private pilot curriculum.

The CFI’s husband was interviewed in order to establish what her stress and fatigue levels were the day of the accident. The CFI’s husband stated that his wife had a full time job working for the City of Lindon as the finance director, was taking night classes in pursuit of a Masters Degree in Public Administration, and they had two children. During the week day she would usually flight instruct in off hours, which included lunch breaks. She attended night classes on Tuesday nights from 1800-2200. An extended family member had been helping to take care of the children and cook some of the family meals. Her regular sleep routine was to be in bed around 2230 and up around 0615. The night before the accident she was in bed at 2245, and she was up at 0615 the day of the accident. Her eating patterns were unchanged the few days prior to the accident, diet was normal, and her sleep pattern had been undisturbed. She had not complained of fatigue or any physical ailments, and she was not under any unusual stresses.

The student pilot, age 25, held a second-class medical certificate and student pilot certificate dated January 5, 2009. The certificate had an instructor’s solo endorsement dated April 21, 2009, in the DA20-C1, and an instructor's cross-country endorsement dated September 4, 2009, in the DA20-C1. Examination of the student pilot’s logbook revealed that he had a total 63.7 hours of flight time (53.6 hours dual, and 10.1 hours solo). The student had flown four flights (4.8 hours) over the previous 90 days; August 27, October 2, October 12, and November 11. All four flights were with the accident CFI. Remarks in the student’s logbook state that during all four flights slow flight was practiced, and stalls were practiced on all except for the November 11 flight. Review of the student's training records indicated that the student was preparing for his final (end of stage) private pilot check flight. Training records showed that tasks on all training flights were marked with an “S”, indicating satisfactory performance of that task; however, in the remarks section of the last four flights the instructor stated that the lesson was reviewed for student proficiency. The training records did not have any additional remarks or comments by any CFI about the student’s flying performance, and none were required by the UVU Aviation Science Department.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

The two-seat, low wing, fixed gear, single-engine airplane, serial number C0078, was manufactured in 1999. It was powered by a Teledyne Continental Motors IO-240-B, 125-hp engine, and equipped with a Sensenich fixed pitch propeller. Review of the maintenance records showed that a 50-hour inspection was performed on November 1, 2010; engine time since overhaul (TSO) was 1,437.9 hours, and total airframe hours were 6,148.4 hours. The most recent maintenance was the replacement of the left and right tires on November 10, 2010, at total aircraft time of 6,167.2 hours.

In a written statement the CFI who flew N978CT from 1000 to 1200 on the day of the accident said that the airplane operated normally throughout the flight. The flight lasted 1.2 hours, consisted of four stop-and-go’s, and the controls felt normal and moved freely.

The UVU dispatch records, fueling log, and Invoice Out Report for N978CT indicate that the accident airplane flew twice on November 17 before the accident flight for a total of 2.6 hours, and that the airplane was fueled with 11.6 gallons of avgas just before the accident flight. The cockpit and baggage area items that were located with the airplane wreckage were inventoried and weighed; total weight in the baggage compartment was 23.9 pounds. The autopsies documented the CFI’s weight as 140 lbs, and the student’s weight as 170 lbs. The airplane’s weight and balance documents dated May 5, 2010, shows the airplane empty weight was 1,224 lbs. The calculated weight of the airplane at takeoff was 1,705 lbs, and the center of gravity (CG) was 10.93 inches aft of datum. The airplane's weight and balance was within the normal operating range as specified in the Diamond DA20-C1 Flight Manual, Supplement 4. The maximum allowed gross weight of the DA20-C1 is 1,764 lbs, and the furthest aft cg allowed is 12.49 inches.

The DA20-C1 flight manual states in Section 2.9 Approved Maneuvers, that the airplane is certified in the UTILITY Category in accordance with Canadian Airworthiness Manual Chapter 523-VLA. Permissible Utility Category Maneuvers include all normal flight maneuvers and spinning. Section 4.4.16 Spinning, includes two CAUTION notes stating, “Intentional spinning is only permitted with flaps in cruise position,” and “Depending on CG and spin entry technique attempts to enter spins may develop into spiral dives. Monitor the airspeed during the first turn and recover immediately if it increases to 65 KIAS.” Another NOTE states, “Spins with aft CG may oscillate in yaw rate and pitch attitude. This has no effect on recovery procedure or recovery time.”

The Flight Test Report concerning spins in the DA20 (FTR-DA20-C1-014) was provided by Diamond Aircraft. The report documents a series of 150 spin entries performed with the DA20-C1 to include full aft CG with flaps at cruise, takeoff, and landing position. The specific conclusions of the report state, “It has been shown by test that the DA20-C1 Katana is able to recover from a 6-turn or 3-second spin, whichever takes longer, with flaps retracted, or from a 1-turn or 3-second spin, whichever take longer, with flaps extended, within an additional 1 1/2 turns. For both the flaps retracted and flaps extended conditions, the positive limit maneuvering load factor and the airspeed limit are not exceeded during spin recovery when the flaps are retracted during the spin recovery. Note that the DA20-C1 contains a placard stating ‘All aerobatic maneuvers, except for intentional spinning which is permitted with flaps UP only, are prohibited.’ It is Impossible to obtain an unrecoverable spin with any use of controls at the entry to or during the spin, as showed by over 150 successful spins completed during this test program.”

The Flight Test Report stated that the utility category aircraft exhibited a very smooth conventional spin with yaw rates of 125 degrees per second and height loss of 250 feet per turn at full aft CG. These parameters relate to a 5,200 feet per minute rate of descent.

The DA20-C1 Flight Manual, section 3.3.6, Recovery from Unintentional Spins, states the following:

1. Throttle Idle

2. Rudder Fully applied to the opposite direction of spin

3. Control Stick Ease forward

4. Rudder Neutral after rotation has stopped

5. Wing Flaps Cruise

6. Elevator Pull cautiously

Bring airplane from descent into level flight position. Do n...