American Champion 8KCAB N101BY

Summary

On 27 January 2010 at about 00:30 local time, a American Champion 8KCAB registered N101BY, operated by Donald H. Sefton, was involved in an accident near Fallon, Nevada, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

27 January 2010 at 00:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Fallon, Nevada, United States

Nearest airport

Fallon Municipal Airport (FLX)

Coordinates

39.4989, -118.7486

Aircraft

American Champion 8KCAB

Registration

N101BY

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Donald H. Sefton

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fallon → Fallon

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR10LA121

Nobody was injured.

Interference between the front seat lap belt and the rear seat rudder/brake pedal assembly that prevented normal operation of the rudder/brake system, which resulted in the pilots’ inability to maintain directional control.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The certified flight instructor (CFI), seated in the front seat, reported that the airplane started to drift to the right during the landing roll. The student pilot, seated in the rear seat, applied left rudder to counteract the drift, but the airplane continued to the right. The CFI took control of the airplane and applied full left rudder and full power; however, the airplane continued to the right until the left main landing gear collapsed and the airplane nosed over. The airplane was equipped with dual lap belt aerobatic harnesses. Postaccident examination revealed that, when full left rudder was applied, the front seat pilot's upper lap belt caught on the rear seat right rudder/brake pedal assembly and activated the right brake. As a result of this finding, the manufacturer issued an Airplane Flight Manual Supplement (AFMS) that provided guidance for pilots to examine the front seat lap belts for proper tension and clearance from the rear seat rudder pedals during their prestart and preflight checks. In addition, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB CE-10-39) that addressed proper installation of the dual lap belt system and informed pilots of the issuance of the AFMS pertaining to the lap belts.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.