Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Midway, Utah 84049
Thursday, January 16, 2003 11:57 MDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The purpose of the flight was for one pilot to familiarize the other pilot with the YAK 52. Both were retired military pilots and airline captains. The fixed base operator's (FBO) receptionist heard a voice on the Unicom frequency say, "We're crashing, we're going in," or words to that effect. Witnesses saw the airplane descend vertically and impact an open field in a residential area. They said the engine was developing full power. During wreckage examination, a brass nut was found in the crushed skin of the empennage. The nut was identified as coming from an air hose assembly. Many of the airplane's systems were pneumatically operated (i.e., engine start, flaps/landing gear extension/retraction). On one end of the assembly was a brass adapter that consisted of a nut and fitting. According to a partner of Squadron 52 LLC, the adapter portion of the assembly was always connected to, and was an integral part of, the hose assembly. Although not normally carried in the airplane, an air hose assembly was usually carried on cross-country trips in the event the air tank developed a leak and there was insufficient pressure to start the engine. The hose assembly could be attached to an FBO's air bottle and the engine could be "jump started." The nut exhibited numerous gouges. The nut was placed between the elevator bellcrank and housing. When the bellcrank was moved by hand, full up and down elevator control could not be achieved because to the impeding nut. The gouges on the nut were consistent with elevator bellcrank contact. Scrape marks were also noted on the underside of the bellcrank housing. It could not be determined how or when the adapter assembly separated from the hose, or how the nut got into the empennage.
This report was modified on July 29, 2004.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The malfunction of the elevator control as a result of a jammed elevator control bell crank, rendering control of the airplane impossible. A contributing factor was the foreign object (nut) damage.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 1/16/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1157 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Daylight Time |
| Event City | Midway |
| Event State | UTAH |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 84049 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 1 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 403548N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1112718W |
| 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 | 1156 Mountain Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 290 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | SLC |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 4227 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 36 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | MST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 15000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| 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) | 3 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -6 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 150 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 4 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.55 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 3013 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 14218 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Comm Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jan 16 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1320 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 25 2003 11:36AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Boise, Idaho |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N2256J |
| NTSB Number | DEN03FA034 |
| 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 | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | Ground |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Yakovlev |
| Aircraft Model | YAK 52 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 833709 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2399 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| 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 | Aug 1 2002 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 834 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Squadron 52 LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | P.O. Box 1763 |
| Aircraft Owner City | Park City |
| Aircraft Owner State | UT |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 84060 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| 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? | -- |
| 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) | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | 36U |
| Departure City | Heber City |
| Departure State | UT |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1100 |
| Departure Time Zone | MST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | 36U |
| Destination City | Heber City |
| Destination State | UT |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Descent |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 21 2003 12:29PM |
| User who most recently changed record | MCBM |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |