Matter GLASAIR-SH-2R N6DM

Summary

On 8 May 1999 at about 14:50 local time, a Matter GLASAIR-SH-2R registered N6DM was involved in an accident near St. Johns, Arizona, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 May 1999 at 14:50

Classification

Accident

Location

St. Johns, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

St. Johns Air Park (SJN)

Coordinates

34.5608, -109.3309

Aircraft

Matter GLASAIR-SH-2R

Registration

N6DM

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Payson → Pampa

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX99LA175

2 people had minor injuries.

The pilot misjudging the distance/altitude while on final approach to the runway, which resulted in a landing overrun. Factors were the pilot's failure to position the flap switch to the neutral position after takeoff, resulting in the continuous running and overheating of the flap motor, and the pilot's decision to shut down the engine.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was about 35 minutes into a planned cross-country flight when he smelled a smoke odor from the cockpit area, and began to see smoke coming from a the switch which controls the flap motor. The pilot decided to land, and elected to turn off the electrical power and shut down the engine. The pilot said he misjudged the approach to runway 3, so he turned the power back on, restarted the engine, and set up for an approach to runway 32. After determining that the landing was assured, he again turned off the electrical and engine power and glided to a landing on runway 32. During the landing, he overshot the touchdown point, overran the runway surface, and collided with an airport boundary fence. Subsequent examination of the airplane revealed that the wire splices leading to the flap motor were touching each other and arcing, causing the smoke in the cockpit. Additionally, the three-position flap motor switch was examined. In the down position the switch is spring loaded to return to neutral; however, in the flaps up position, the switch must be physically returned to the neutral position. There are no limit stop proximity switches in the system and the motor will continue to run in either the up or down directions if the cockpit switch is in other than the neutral position. The flap motor had continued to run after the pilot retracted the flaps after takeoff, but did not reposition the switch to the neutral position. The overheated flap motor was another source of heat and smoke in the cockpit.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.