Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Anderson, Indiana 46011
Thursday, May 23, 2002 15:05 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane contacted the terrain following an inflight separation of the canard. Witnesses reported that during the days prior to the accident, the pilot had removed the canard to install an autopilot system. An employee of the pilot reported that the pilot was the only person who had been working on the airplane. The accident occurred on a test flight following the installation. The canard was located 6/10 mile from the main wreckage. The canard was intact and contained minor damage to the leading edges and to the left tip. Neither of the bolts, which attach the canard to the shear web (bulkhead), was located. A section of the bulkhead, containing one of the imbedded bushings through which the attachment bolt would pass was located. Neither of the attachment tabs on the canard showed any significant damage. The perimeter of the canard skin is attached to the fuselage with screws. The screw holes on the canard were ripped through.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to properly install the canard attach bolts prior to the flight and the resulting inflight separation of the canard.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/23/2002
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1505
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Anderson
Event State INDIANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 46011
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 5
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 1345 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID AID
Elevation of weather observation facility 919
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 24
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 180
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 15
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.03
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 13294
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date May 23 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1615
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record May 13 2003 12:26PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Indianapolis, IN FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N827CM
NTSB Number CHI02FA140
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Schutte
Aircraft Model Ms. Ryan Special
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 001
Certified Max Gross Weight 2200
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 Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Oct 29 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Michael J. Schutte
Aircraft Owner Street Address 18 September Drive
Aircraft Owner City Missoula
Aircraft Owner State MT
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 59802
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Steven C. Drybread
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 12050 Kingfisher Circle
Operator City Indianapolis
Operator State IN
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 46236
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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) Flight Test
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code AID
Departure City Anderson
Departure State IN
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1500
Departure Time Zone CDT
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 Unknown
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Feb 13 2003 3:34PM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --