Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Spring Valley, Ohio 45370
Saturday, June 9, 2012 8:05 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The owner-designed and built experimental airplane crashed in a grass field in a rural area after the left wing separated in flight. The main wreckage included the fuselage, engine, tail surfaces, and the right wing; the left wing was located about 1/2 mile from the main wreckage. The left wing was mostly intact, but the wing control surfaces had separated. Examination of the inboard end of the left main wing spar revealed that the wood structure of the spar had failed and separated at the spar attachment bolt locations. No witnesses to the accident flight were identified; however, it is likely that the pilot was maneuvering when the wing separation occurred. Because the airplane was a unique design and investigators did not have access to the design parameters, it was not possible to determine precisely why the wing spar failed. Postaccident examination of the airframe revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation other than the separated wing spar previously described. Based on the available evidence, it is likely that the left wing spar failed and resulted in an in-flight separation of the wing and the airplane’s subsequent impact with the ground.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The in-flight failure of the left wing spar, which resulted in the in-flight separation of the left wing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/9/2012
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 805
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Spring Valley
Event State OHIO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 45370
Event Date Year 2012
Event Date Month 6
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 --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 755 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 340
Weather Observation Facility ID FFO
Elevation of weather observation facility 823
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 12
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 25000
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) 17
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 13
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator --
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.04
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report 201206091555 METAR KFFO 091555Z 22005KT 10SM FEW05
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) 31698
NTSB Notification Source FAA-AGL-ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jul 31 2013 12:08PM
User who most recently changed record bowl
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N9010T
NTSB Number CEN12LA349
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 FLOWER ROGER P
Aircraft Model J D
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 01
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection --
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name FLOWER ROGER P
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City BELLBROOK
Aircraft Owner State OH
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 45305-1891
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name FLOWER ROGER P
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City BELLBROOK
Operator State OH
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 45305-1891
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 No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code I19
Departure City Dayton
Departure State OH
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone --
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code I19
Destination City Dayton
Destination State OH
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 7 2013 4:00PM
User who most recently changed record brajo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --