Rexburg Madison County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Rexburg, Idaho 83440
Wednesday, September 17, 2008 9:30 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The aircraft owner, who held a commercial pilot certificate, was seated in the right seat, and a private pilot was in the left seat, for an instructional/transition flight in the amateur built experimental airplane. The aircraft owner reported that they were landing when the private pilot reduced engine power on short final and the aircraft's nose dropped. The owner said the private pilot pulled the stick back "too aggressively" and then moved it rapidly forward and the airplane subsequently contacted the runway "quite hard." In response, the private pilot increased power and initiated a go-around. As the power increased the airplane's nose pitched up and the private pilot "shoved" the stick forward. The airplane contacted the runway in a 30-40 degree nose down attitude. After contacting the runway, the airplane's nose and right main gear collapsed, which resulted in structural damage to the wing assembly and forward fuselage. No preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane were reported.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The private pilot's excessive use of the flight controls and improper landing flair, which resulted in a hard landing and subsequent gear collapse.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/17/2008
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 930
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Rexburg
Event State IDAHO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 83440
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 455002N
Event Location Longitude 1114818W
Event Location Airport Rexburg Madison County Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID KRXE
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.01
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 4858
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
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) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 50
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 24545
NTSB Notification Source FAA-ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 20 2008 4:19PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N826W
NTSB Number SEA08CA203
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Snelling
Aircraft Model Zodiac
Aircraft Series Identifier CH 601 HD
Aircraft Serial Number 63830
Certified Max Gross Weight 1200
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats 2
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats 1
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional
Date of Last Inspection May 8 2008 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 389
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name Egan Aviation Corporation
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Wilmington
Aircraft Owner State DE
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 19810
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Timothy Egan
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Idaho Falls
Operator State ID
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 83402
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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 U56
Departure City Rigby
Departure State ID
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 850
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code KRXE
Destination City Rexburg
Destination State ID
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 17 2008 2:17PM
User who most recently changed record ricj
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 17
Runway Length 4200
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --