Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Ramona Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Ramona, California 92065
Saturday, May 9, 2009 14:35 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot and pilot-rated passenger departed for a personal flight in the borrowed experimental amateur-built airplane, which was equipped with dual flight controls. No determination could be made regarding which occupant was handling the controls during the flight. Recorded radar data indicated that 11 minutes into the flight, a series of maneuvers were performed. A witness stated that he observed the accident airplane spiral downward until it impacted the ground. He also reported observing a wing, which was separated from the main body of the airplane, fall to the ground nearby. Right wing spar fragments and the right aileron were found between 0.1 and 0.3 mile from the main wreckage, indicating that the right wing had separated in flight.
Postaccident examination of fragments from the right wing’s broken wood wing spar revealed that the spar had been constructed with a wood grain orientation 12 degrees from the spar's longitudinal axis. This angle was inconsistent with published Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) guidance stating that grain deviation from the longitudinal axis of the spar should be no more than 3.8 degrees. The maximum grain deviation is limited because the relative strength and stiffness of an airplane’s wood wing spar is reduced when the grain structure within the spar is not oriented parallel to the longitudinal axis of the spar. With a 12-degree grain orientation, the spar’s load-carrying capability was compromised and reduced to between 30 to 70 percent of that of a spar with a 0-degree (parallel) grain orientation. It is likely that the wing spar failed when the pilot performed a maneuver that produced aerodynamic loads exceeding its degraded strength.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
An in-flight separation of the right wing, which resulted from the pilot's performance of a maneuver that produced aerodynamic loads that exceeded the wing spar’s degraded strength. The wing spar strength degradation was due to the builder's failure to comply with Federal Aviation Administration recommended guidelines to select and incorporate wood in the spar with a grain pattern aligned with the longitudinal axis of the spar.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/9/2009 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1435 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | Ramona |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 92065 |
| Event Date Year | 2009 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 325919N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1164655W |
| Event Location Airport | Ramona |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | RNM |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 9 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 1395 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1453 Pacific Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 282 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | RNM |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1395 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 7 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PDT |
| 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) | 27 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 13 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 280 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 11 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.86 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 29544 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA WP Comm Ctr |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 23 2013 11:21AM |
| User who most recently changed record | coln |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N86YP |
| NTSB Number | WPR09FA234 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Upton |
| Aircraft Model | Bakeng Duce |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 572 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1600 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| 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 | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | May 2 2009 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 480 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Jerry M. Taylor |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | RAMONA |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 92065-7223 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | -- |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Ramona |
| Operator State | CA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 92065 |
| 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 | RNM |
| Departure City | Ramona |
| Departure State | CA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1423 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | RNM |
| Destination City | Ramona |
| Destination State | CA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 12 2013 11:39AM |
| User who most recently changed record | coos |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |