Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Morris, Minnesota 56267
Saturday, December 23, 1995 12:34 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

A witness who observed the airplane before the accident, saw the airplane 'performing a steep climb and then slowly turning left and coming back down. The airplane then straightened out and repeated the maneuver.' The airplane wreckage was discovered approximately 25 minutes later. The pilot/owner-builder told a friend the day before the accident that he intended to test the airplane to see how it would handle in stalls and stall recoveries. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the elevator bob weight was mounted on the idler arm upside down. A mock up of the assembly revealed the upside-down elevator bob weight was contacting the aft elevator push rod, resulting in a partial blockage of the elevator whenever forward stick controls were applied. This limited the elevator control surface to approximately 7 degrees of down elevator travel range. The assembly plans, provided by the kit manufacturer, were designed to provide a down elevator travel range of 13 degrees. The aircraft logbook indicated that as of 12/21/95, the airplane had logged 13.1 hours.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the partially blocked elevator and improper installation of the elevator bob weight by the owner/builder which prevented full travel of the elevator control system. Factors relating to this accident were the intentional stall and inability to adequately recover from the stall.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/23/1995
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1234
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City MORRIS
Event State MINNESOTA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 56267
Event Date Year 1995
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1235 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 180
Weather Observation Facility ID MOX
Elevation of weather observation facility 1130
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 6
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 2300
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Unknown
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) -3
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -7
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 0
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 1150
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal 2
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 2002
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Dec 26 1995 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 800
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 7 2000 4:49PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2114Z
NTSB Number CHI96FA065
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name MUMM
Aircraft Model LANCAIR
Aircraft Series Identifier LANCAIR
Aircraft Serial Number 438-320188FB
Certified Max Gross Weight 1685
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Nov 16 1995 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 13
Airframe Hours 13
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name JERRY A. MUMM
Aircraft Owner Street Address RR 1, BOX 115
Aircraft Owner City HOLLOWAY
Aircraft Owner State MN
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 56249
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code MOX
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1210
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:30AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --