McClung SEA HAWK N391SP

Summary

On 24 November 1995 at about 20:15 local time, a McClung SEA HAWK registered N391SP was involved in an accident near Marengo, Illinois, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

24 November 1995 at 20:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Marengo, Illinois, United States

Coordinates

42.1093, -89.0008

Aircraft

McClung SEA HAWK

Registration

N391SP

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Belvidere → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI96LA041

Nobody was injured.

the failure of the upper right wing due to the presence of unbonded areas between the spar cap and the bidirectional fiberglass. The unbonded areas were due to the inadequate manufacturing of the airplane by the owner/builder. A factor in the accident was the inadequate design by the kit manufacturer.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that approximately 10 minutes into the flight a 'thump' was heard from the right rear of the airplane. He stated that besides a slight list to the right, he did not notice anything unusual with the airplane's flying characteristics. He decided to make a precautionary landing after noticing a rapid depletion of indicated fuel quantity on the upper wing tank gauge. After landing, the pilot and passenger exited the airplane and realized the airplane's upper right wing had departed the airplane. A fire started and consumed the entire airplane. The wing was found 7/8 mile from the resting point of the airplane. Examination of the failed upper right wing, revealed the wing had failed due to compression failure. The investigation also revealed that the failure was due to the presence of unbonded areas between the spar cap and the bidirectional fiberglass that secures the web to the cap. It is not possible to inspect these areas because they are not accessible after construction.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.