Rice Leo B KITFOX SERIES 5 N77LR

Summary

On 28 April 2012 at about 18:10 local time, a Rice Leo B KITFOX SERIES 5 registered N77LR, operated by Lurcott William H, was involved in an accident near Port Canaveral, Florida, United States. One person was 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

28 April 2012 at 18:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Port Canaveral, Florida, United States

Coordinates

28.3381, -80.6844

Aircraft

Rice Leo B KITFOX SERIES 5

Registration

N77LR

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Lurcott William H

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Merritt Island → Merritt Island

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA12LA307

Nobody was injured.

Impingement of the elevator control by foreign objects (clamp, glove) left in the flight control path by the pilot/owner or maintenance personnel.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The purpose of the single-pilot flight was for the pilot to photograph boats from a low altitude about 3 miles offshore. Witnesses who saw the airplane prior to the accident reported that it was circling about 15 to 20 feet above the water and appeared to be taking photographs. The pilot reported that, at the conclusion of the flight, he leveled the airplane at an altitude of 100 feet and felt the elevator control bind as if “something was stuck.” The pilot was unable to regain elevator control, and the airplane contacted the water in a wings-level attitude and sank. The airplane was located in the water and recovered about 10 days later and was subsequently examined. The seat pan panel and the dust boot at the base of the pilot's control stick were removed, and a 6-inch long, plastic, spring-loaded clamp and a leather glove were discovered between the tube seat structure and the control column bearing. These items would have restricted the movement of the control column, which, in turn, would have affected the elevator movement. The airplane’s maintenance history could not be determined, as the pilot was unable to furnish the maintenance records after the accident. Therefore, it could not be determined when the pilot/owner, or other maintenance personnel, had the opportunity to close the clamp and glove beneath the seat adjacent to the flight control tubes and bearings.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.