N176PA – PETRUS DAVID WAYNE S90 – 2016-12-26 NTSB Accident Report

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn December 26, 2016, about 1318 Pacific standard time, an experimental, amateur-built Express S-90, N176PA, was destroyed when it departed controlled flight and impacted terrain shortly after takeoff from runway 30 at Sierra Sky Park Airport (E79), Fresno, California. The private pilot/owner and his passenger received fatal injuries. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident.

The pilot had a residence on E79, a residential airpark, and based his airplane there. According to the pilot's wife, the passenger was a family friend, and the flight was to be a local pleasure flight.

Several persons, some of whom were pilots, witnessed various portions of the accident flight, and the reports were generally consistent with one another. The witnesses were at multiple various locations around E79 and its surrounds. All stated that the airplane was climbing after takeoff when it made a "sudden" and/or "rapid" right turn. Two non-pilot witnesses, who were about 1,200 ft northwest of the departure end of the runway, reported that the airplane was "low" when they first observed it and that it then suddenly turned right. Several other witnesses, some of whom were pilots, reported that the airplane was in an abnormally steep climb after liftoff and then began a right turn that was followed shortly thereafter by a rapid descent and impact to the lake situated north of and below the airport elevation.

Accounts of the airplane's specific motions after the right turn varied, but all witnesses reported that the airplane descended rapidly toward the ground very shortly thereafter. Most reported a nose-down attitude during the descent, and one witness qualified the descent as "falling." Maximum bank angle accounts varied, and at least one witness reported a full 360° roll. Maximum altitude accounts also varied, but all accounts agreed that the airplane did not climb very high.

The witnesses who were able to hear the engine agreed that initially the engine sounded normal, but their accounts then diverged as the airplane began its right turn/roll. The deviations in witness accounts of the engine sound are consistent with changing airplane attitudes, and/or differences in witness locations. Some witnesses reported that the engine sounded normal, while others reported a decrease in power (based on volume of the sound) and/or "popping" sounds. Only one witness reported seeing smoke, but he was uncertain whether the airplane that he observed was the accident airplane, and he categorized the smoke as exhaust.

Immediately after the accident, several witnesses attempted to access the accident site to render assistance. One witness, a pilot who resided at E79, was the first person to arrive at the impact site. He stated that there was the "odor of gasoline but no sheen" on the surrounding water. There was no fire. PERSONNEL INFORMATIONPilot

The 47-year-old pilot held a private pilot certificate with an airplane single-engine land rating. His most recent Federal Aviation Administration third-class medical certificate was issued in July 2016.

According to the pilot's logbook, he began flight training in 1996 and received his pilot certificate in 1997. He accrued about 150 hours total in several airplane types, including Cessna 150, Cessna 172, Piper PA-38, and Piper PA-28R models. In 2002 and 2004, he accrued about 24 and 2 hours, respectively, in a Velocity experimental amateur-built airplane. He then stopped flying until 2011. In 2011 and 2012, he flew about 13 hours in a Piper PA-28 airplane.

In August 2016, when he had a total flight experience of about 187 hours, the pilot bought and logged his first flight in the accident airplane make and model, which was the accident airplane. Excluding the accident flight, he had logged a total of 31.1 hours in that airplane. The pilot's total flight experience at the time of the accident was about 218 hours.

A former neighbor of the accident pilot, who was also a pilot and had previously built an Express S-90 in which he had accumulated about 150 flight hours, reported that he had flown the accident airplane several times with the accident pilot, most recently about 5 days before the accident. The former neighbor stated that he knew the pilot well and firmly believed that the pilot would not try to "show off," scare passengers, or do "high performance takeoffs," which he explained were takeoffs in which the airplane climbed away from the runway at an unusually steep angle.

Another resident stated that he thought the accident pilot was a "good pilot" but added that the pilot was "behind the airplane." He did not elaborate on either his opinion or its basis.

Passenger

The passenger was a 32-year-old male. He was the son of a neighbor of the pilot. He did not hold any FAA certificates. According to family members, he had no piloting experience and no plans to learn to fly, and the accident flight was one of his very few flights in a general aviation airplane. AIRCRAFT INFORMATIONThe fixed-gear, four-place, high-performance airplane was designed and marketed by Composite Aircraft Technology. The airplane was built by a third party in 2004 and was owned by several different persons before it was purchased by the accident pilot. The airplane was equipped with a Lycoming IO-540 series engine and a Hartzell 3-blade propeller.

According to the maintenance records, the most recent condition inspection was completed in May 2016. As of that date, the airframe had accrued 501 hours total time (TT) in service. Engine maintenance records indicated that an oil and filter change was accomplished in September 2016, at which time the airframe had accumulated a TT of about 546 hours, and the engine had accumulated a TT since major overhaul of about 945 hours. Review of the maintenance records did not reveal any discrepancies or maintenance activities that could be associated with the accident.

The former neighbor who had flown with the pilot in the airplane stated that the airplane flew straight and level "hands off" and that it flew "really well." He also stated that the flight controls were "heavy" and that manipulating them was "like driving a Mack truck." The former neighbor reported that he normally used about 5° to 10° of flap for takeoff in his S-90 and thought that the accident pilot did the same. He was not aware of the accident airplane having a cockpit flap position indicator and thought that the pilot determined the amount of flap deflection visually by looking out the cockpit window. The former neighbor stated that, in his airplane, he used a neutral (tab faired with elevator) pitch trim setting for takeoff, and that the accident pilot used a similar setting.

Weight and Balance Information

According to the most recent weight and balance documentation located by the investigation, the airplane had an empty weight of 2,163 lbs, and a maximum gross weight of 3,300 lbs. The airplane was equipped with two 15-gallon outboard fuel tanks and two 30-gallon inboard fuel tanks.

Calculations using the occupants' weight and two different fuel loads both resulted in a gross weight below the maximum allowable, but with center of gravity (CG) values about 2 inches forward of the allowable envelope. However, the validity of the airplane empty weight/CG, station information, and envelope values could not be independently verified by the investigation. In addition, the exemplar loading conditions were likely representative of the configuration for several previous flights, during which the airplane flew normally. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATIONThe airport was not equipped with any weather sensing, reporting, or recording equipment.

The 1315 automated weather observation at Fresno Chandler Executive Airport (FCH), located 8 miles south of E79, included visibility 10 miles, clear skies, temperature 10°C, dew point 3°C, and an altimeter setting of 30.28 inches of mercury. The observation did not include any wind data. Meteorological conditions at Fresno-Yosemite Air Terminal (FAT), located 8 miles southeast of E79, were similar and included winds from 310° at 5 knots. AIRPORT INFORMATIONThe fixed-gear, four-place, high-performance airplane was designed and marketed by Composite Aircraft Technology. The airplane was built by a third party in 2004 and was owned by several different persons before it was purchased by the accident pilot. The airplane was equipped with a Lycoming IO-540 series engine and a Hartzell 3-blade propeller.

According to the maintenance records, the most recent condition inspection was completed in May 2016. As of that date, the airframe had accrued 501 hours total time (TT) in service. Engine maintenance records indicated that an oil and filter change was accomplished in September 2016, at which time the airframe had accumulated a TT of about 546 hours, and the engine had accumulated a TT since major overhaul of about 945 hours. Review of the maintenance records did not reveal any discrepancies or maintenance activities that could be associated with the accident.

The former neighbor who had flown with the pilot in the airplane stated that the airplane flew straight and level "hands off" and that it flew "really well." He also stated that the flight controls were "heavy" and that manipulating them was "like driving a Mack truck." The former neighbor reported that he normally used about 5° to 10° of flap for takeoff in his S-90 and thought that the accident pilot did the same. He was not aware of the accident airplane having a cockpit flap position indicator and thought that the pilot determined the amount of flap deflection visually by looking out the cockpit window. The former neighbor stated that, in his airplane, he used a neutral (tab faired with elevator) pitch trim setting for takeoff, and that the accident pilot used a similar setting.

Weight an...