Varieze N111CH

Summary

On 20 June 1982 at about 19:20 local time, a Varieze registered N111CH, operated by Charles E. Hammond, was involved in an accident near Roanoke, Texas, United States. 2 people were on board and one died, one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. No probable cause statement is available for this record.

Date

20 June 1982 at 19:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Roanoke, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Aero Valley

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Varieze

Registration

N111CH

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Charles E. Hammond

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Roanoke → Roanoke

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW82FPD13

1 person died.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

ABOUT 5 MIN AFTER TAKEOFF, THE PILOT INITIATED A HIGH SPEED LOW PASS OVER THE AIRPORT. WHEN THE AIRCRAFT WAS ABOUT 1000 FT FROM THE AIRPORT AT ABOUT 100 FT AGL, THE RIGHT WINGLET SEPARATED. A WITNESS ESTIMATED THAT THE AIRCRAFT'S SPEED WAS ABOUT 200 MPH. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE PLANE ROLLED INVERTED AND CRASHED. AN EXAMINATION REVEALED THAT THE WINGLET WAS NOT INSTALLED IN ACCORDANCE TO THE DESIGNER'S PLANS. SPECIFICALLY, THE PLANS CALLED FOR AN 8-PLY FIBERGLASS BUILD-UP ON THE OUTSIDE RADIUS FROM THE LOWER WING TO THE OUTSIDE SURFACE OF THE WINGLET. FIBERGLASS BUILD-UP WAS NOT INCORPORTED. THE DESIGNER ESTIMATED THAT IT HAD LESS THAN 1/20 OF THE DESIGN STRENGTH. AT HIGH SPEED, WITH ZERO SIDE SLIP, THERE IS AN INWARD AERODYNAMIC (BENDING) LOAD ON THE WINGLET THAT IS EQUIVALENT TO A 15 DEG SIDE SLIP AT LOW SPEED. THIS WINGLET HAD FAILED INWARD. ALSO, A NUMBER OF OTHER DEVIATIONS FROM THE DESIGNERS PLANS WERE NOTED.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.