Worthington Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Worthington, Minnesota 56187
Sunday, August 16, 2009 17:30 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported he heard and felt a “loud pop” at the end of a spray run and realized he did not have elevator control. The pilot controlled the pitch attitude using power and elevator trim as he flew back to an airport to land. The pilot decided to land at a higher than normal airspeed so he could maintain control of the airplane. The airplane bounced twice during the landing. During the second runway impact, the main gear collapsed. The airplane slid approximately 200 feet and veered off the right side of the runway prior to coming to rest and sustained substantial damage to the right wing. A post accident examination of the airplane revealed the elevator push-pull rod was fractured through the first full thread of the threaded shaft adjacent to the conical section. The remaining threaded section of the rod was threaded into the monoball spherical bearing fitting. A metallurgical examination revealed a fatigue fracture that initiated from both sides of the threaded shank on the rod end. Examination of the monoball bearing revealed several dents in the metallic bearing shield. The shape, size, and location of the dents and the deformation of the bearing shield were consistent with over-travel contact by the boss on the monoball bearing.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A fatigue failure of the elevator push-pull rod which resulted in the pilot's inability to control the aircraft's pitch attitude while landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/16/2009
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1730
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Worthington
Event State MINNESOTA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 56187
Event Date Year 2009
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 433908N
Event Location Longitude 0953420W
Event Location Airport Worthington Municipal Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID OTG
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1735 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID OTG
Elevation of weather observation facility 1574
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
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) 22
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 8
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 280
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 12
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.94
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 26194
NTSB Notification Source FAA-MSP-FSDO
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 22 2009 10:52AM
User who most recently changed record dinc
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N660RB
NTSB Number CEN09LA526
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 137: Agricultural
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name THRUSH AIRCRAFT INC
Aircraft Model S2R-T660
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number T660-114DC
Certified Max Gross Weight 14150
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
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 Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Apr 1 2009 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 52
Airframe Hours 556
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name BOARDMAN AIR SERVICE LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City HENDERSON
Aircraft Owner State NE
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 68371-1702
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name BOARDMAN AIR SERVICE LLC
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Henderson
Operator State NE
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code RNCG
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Agriculture
Operator Certificate Number RNCG679H
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) Aerial Application
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code OTG
Departure City Worthington
Departure State MN
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1630
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code OTG
Destination City Worthington
Destination State MN
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Sep 18 2009 10:15AM
User who most recently changed record sulp
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 29
Runway Length 5506
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --