N88452

On December 7, 2016, about 1043 Alaska standard time, a tailwheel, ski-equipped Bellanca Citabria 7GCBC airplane, N88452, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain about 17 miles southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska. The airline transport pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 visual flight rules (VFR) personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and a VFR flight plan was filed and activated. The local area flight departed Chena Marina Airport (AK28), Fairbanks, at 1026.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Fairbanks Flight Service Station records, the pilot filed a local flight plan for a 3-hour flight within a 50-mile area to the east, south and west of Fairbanks International Airport (FAI). The mechanic who had recently worked on the airplane stated that the purpose of the flight was to test the airplane's flight performance following the installation of vortex generators (VGs) on the wings and horizontal stabilizer. The airplane's engine ran rough after the first start, so the mechanic brought the airplane back into the hangar to warm up. He checked the fuel sumps for debris and found none. After warming, the airplane was pushed outside and operated normally after the second start.

A review of archived FAA radio communication recordings revealed that the pilot called the FAI air traffic control tower before departure and was provided the current wind of 350° at 5 knots and the altimeter setting of 30.64 inches of mercury. After departure, he requested that his VFR flight plan be activated. The last transmission from the pilot was at 1033 when he asked the FAI tower if the restricted airspace R-2211 was "hot"; the tower reported it was "cold."

A Garmin GPSMAP 296 portable GPS receiver was recovered from the wreckage and downloaded at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Vehicle Recorder Laboratory. The recorded data included time, location, and GPS altitude, as well as derived groundspeed and track information.

The airplane began its takeoff roll at Chena Marina Airport at 1026:14, climbed toward the southeast to a GPS altitude of 1,762 ft, and proceeded south over the Tanana Flats. Between 1033:11 and 1037:07, the airplane performed one right 360° turn and two 420° turns (one to the left and one to the right) while flying between GPS altitudes of 1,601 ft and 1,437 ft and maintaining groundspeeds of 44 to 100 knots.

At 1037:07, the airplane turned to a southwesterly track of 194° to 201° for about 3 minutes and performed slow flight maneuvers. During this period, the airplane slowed to 46 knots for a period of 19 seconds, accelerated, and then slowed to 40 knots for 14 seconds before accelerating to 68 knots; these changes in airspeed were consistent with the pilot practicing stalls.

At 1040:52, the airplane began a southeast track of 133° that lasted for 2 minutes 36 seconds. During this final track, the airplane descended from 1,545 ft to 981 ft, decelerated from 81 knots to 26 knots, and then entered a rapid descent at a rate of about 2,000 ft per minute (fpm) and a rapid turn to the south. About 30 seconds before the rapid descent began, the airplane had a rate of descent of 510 fpm as it decelerated below 40 knots. The last valid GPS data point indicated an increasing groundspeed of 35 knots, an altitude of 587 ft (75 ft above ground level), and a track of 144°.

According to FAA air traffic control recordings and documentation, at 1318, about 2.5 hours after the last GPS data point, two US Army CH-47F helicopter crews were flying through the area and located the airplane wreckage after hearing an emergency locator transmitter signal.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

The pilot, age 74, held an airline transport pilot certificate with an airplane multi-engine land rating. Additionally, he held commercial privileges for airplane single-engine land and single-engine sea. He held a third-class medical certificate issued on January 22, 2016, with the limitation: must have available glasses for near vision. According to documentation provided by family members, the pilot was well rested and in good health the morning of the accident.

The pilot co-owned the airplane with his son. The pilot also owned a Cessna 180 and had been flying it at least monthly according to his logbook entries.

Examination of the pilot's logbook revealed that he had recorded about 3,171 hours of flight experience, of which 2,736 hours were in single-engine airplanes and 206 hours were in a Citabria 7GCBC. The pilot's most recent flight review was conducted on February 24, 2016, in his Cessna 180 airplane. The flight instructor who conducted the last flight review stated that he was not sure if stalls were performed during the most recent flight review, but he recalled performing stalls during other reviews with the pilot. He also stated that the pilot was a very competent and conservative pilot.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

The two-seat, high-wing, conventional-gear airplane was manufactured in 1974 and equipped with a 150-horsepower Lycoming O-320-A2D reciprocating engine and a fixed-pitch, two-bladed McCauley metal propeller. The airplane had been altered by the installation of metal wing spars in accordance with FAA Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) SA3829NM. During the week before the accident, the airplane was equipped with Landis L-2000A straight skis in accordance with FAA STC SA261AL and Micro Aerodynamics vortex generators in accordance with FAA STC SA00795SE. The optional stall warning horn was not installed.

A review of the maintenance logbooks revealed that the last annual inspection of the airplane was completed on April 4, 2016, at which time the airframe and engine total times were 2,882.24 hours, and the engine time since major overhaul was 875.24 hours. According to the mechanic who maintained the airplane and the logbook entries, the engine throttle cable was removed and replaced the week before the accident due to a stiff throttle. The alternator was removed and replaced the day before the accident due to electrical issues that the airplane had on December 2. The transponder was removed for maintenance before the flight. At the time of the accident, the tachometer indicated 2,889.34 hours and the recording hour meter indicated 1,229.0 hours.

Weight and Balance

The actual gross weight of the airplane at the time of the accident could not be determined as the fuel quantity could not be verified. According to the mechanic's recollection, the fuel tanks were about 3/4 full before engine start, which would have been about 27 gallons. The airplane's weight and balance condition at the time of takeoff was calculated based on the estimated fuel onboard (156 lbs), the estimated pilot weight based on his most recent medical application and winter clothing (215 lbs + 4 lbs), actual cargo weights (1 lb front seat + 2.5 lb rear seat + 94 lbs in rear baggage area), and the airplane weight and balance form for the Landis ski configuration (1218 lbs empty weight + 15 lbs oil).

Page 1-3 of the Bellanca Citabria Pilot Operation Manual (POM) lists the maximum allowable gross weight of 1,650 lbs and the center of gravity limits between 14.2 inches and 19.2 inches aft of datum. The calculated takeoff weight was 1,705 lbs, which was 55 lbs above the maximum allowable gross weight. The airplane's weight at the time of the accident, about 18 minutes later with an estimated 24 gallons of fuel remaining, was calculated at 1,687 lbs. The center of gravity at the time of the accident was calculated using figures 5-1, 5-2 and 5-5 from the Citabria POM and determined to be 17.18 inches.

METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION

The closest weather reporting facility to the accident site was at FAI, which was located about 16 miles north of the accident site at an elevation of 432 ft. At 1053, the recorded weather at FAI was wind from 010° at 5 knots, visibility 10 miles, sky clear below 12,000 ft, temperature -33°C, dew point temperature -36°C, and altimeter setting 30.63 inches of mercury.

On the day of the accident, sunrise in Fairbanks was at 1037. According to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration solar calculator, the sun was at an elevation angle of 0.1° above the horizon at an azimuth of 153° true at 1043.

On December 9, 2016, the NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC) noted that while flying to the accident site via helicopter about 1100, sun glare was present in the direction of the rising sun, which made viewing the terrain details difficult.

For further weather information, see the weather study located in the public docket for this accident.

WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION

The wreckage was located within the southern border of the Fort Wainwright US Army base, about 7 miles south of Clear Creek Butte, in an open level area of snow-covered tundra and small groves of black spruce trees. All major components of the airplane were located at the accident site, which was contained within an area about 60 ft long and 20 ft wide at an elevation of about 512 ft. The airplane came to rest intact with the fuselage resting on the ground in a right 30° bank, in a slightly nose-down attitude, and on a heading of 220°. The initial impact point was indicated by three freshly fractured spruce tree tops about 350 ft northwest of the wreckage. The tallest tree was estimated to be 55 ft high. Red and white paint chips matching the airplane were located on the ground among broken limbs as thick as 4 inches in diameter. Initial ground impact was evident at two parallel ski marks in the snow and grass on a bearing of 140° from the damaged spruce trees. The tracks were about 30 ft long and were followed by about another 30 ft of disturbed snow patterns northwest of the wreckage.

The right wing sustained significant fore to aft crush damage to the inboard 8 ft of the ...