Rhinehart STOLP SDTR TOO SA300 N160JR

Summary

On 23 October 2022 at about 18:12 local time, a Rhinehart STOLP SDTR TOO SA300 registered N160JR was involved in an accident near Lordstown, Ohio, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

23 October 2022 at 18:12

Classification

Accident

Location

Lordstown, Ohio, United States

Coordinates

41.1665, -80.8144

Aircraft

Rhinehart STOLP SDTR TOO SA300

Registration

N160JR

Category

Airplane

Year built

1996

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Warren → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA23LA041

2 people were seriously injured.

The pilot’s exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and loss of airplane control. Contributing to the accident was the improper installation of the elevator trim tab control, which created control feedback that likely distracted the pilot during the precautionary landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that shortly after takeoff, the control stick started shaking violently fore and aft. A witness video confirmed that upon liftoff the airplane’s elevator and elevator trim surfaces began to oscillate. The pilot stated that he continued the takeoff because insufficient runway remained on which to abort, and that he had full control authority, but flew the traffic pattern 10 mph slower than normal due to the feedback on the flight controls. The video showed that the airplane flew the downwind leg at a constant altitude but appeared low based on its position relative to trees and structures in the foreground. The sound of the engine was smooth and continuous through the takeoff roll, the initial climb, and the crosswind and downwind legs of the left traffic pattern. At a point consistent with the base leg of the traffic pattern, the airplane decelerated and entered a left turn. The airplane banked steeply, the nose pitched downward, and the angle of descent steepened. The airplane’s descent appeared to shallow before it disappeared behind trees and the sounds of impact were heard. The pilot’s son, who was a passenger in the airplane, said, “He tried to turn it back, but our airspeed was so low [the plane] just started falling.” Flight control continuity was confirmed from the cockpit to the flight control surfaces. The elevator trim tab cable was intact, but free from its attachment hardware on the trim tab cable mount. Examination of the cable and its associated hardware revealed that the cable was not properly secured and pulled free of its mount. Because the maintenance records for the airplane were burned in the post-crash fire, the history of the assembly could not be determined after the airplane’s airworthiness date. It is likely that the pilot’s decision to fly at a lower airspeed and his distraction due to the fluttering elevator trim tab led to his exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack during the downwind-to-base-leg turn, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and a subsequent loss of control.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.