Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
N/A Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Debary, Florida 32753
Sunday, January 13, 2013 18:18 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The flight departed uneventfully and was climbing to the pilots’ planned cruise flight level (FL) 380 (about 38,000 feet). As the airplane climbed through FL350 at a climb rate of 1,000 feet per minute (fpm) with the autopilot engaged, the airplane pitched nose-down and entered a 400-fpm descent. The pilots disconnected the autopilot, assumed manual control of the airplane, and leveled off at FL350. Both crewmembers noted that “excessive” force was required to change the pitch of the airplane and subsequently notified air traffic controllers of the situation. The pilots then requested a descent, during which they noted that trim and manual elevator control inputs resulted in an exaggerated pitch response from the airplane. However, the pilots stated that as they descended through FL180, it felt like something “broke loose,” and the elevator controls began to respond normally again. The pilots reengaged the autopilot and continued to the planned destination uneventfully.
Postincident examination of the airplane revealed that several of the fuselage tail area bilge drain holes were partially or totally obstructed by debris, allowing water to accumulate within the bilge and in areas adjacent to elevator control cables and pulleys. Several of the pulleys exhibited evidence of saturation with moisture, and two of the pulleys’ bearings had seized completely and displayed evidence that the control cable had subsequently worn their grooves. Additionally, examination showed that seals designed to limit the entry of moisture to the tail area had not been trimmed in accordance with the published installation procedure. It is likely that the accumulated moisture in the tail section froze as the airplane climbed to colder altitudes and resulted in the flight control stiffness. The ice subsequently melted as the airplane descended, and the pilots were able to regain control.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
An accumulation of debris in the airplane’s bilge drain holes that prevented accumulated moisture from properly draining; the accumulated moisture subsequently froze around the elevator control components, which resulted in the flight control stiffness. Contributing to the accident was maintenance personnel’s improper installation of seals in the airplane’s tailcone, which allowed water to enter the tailcone.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Incident |
| Event Date | 1/13/2013 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1818 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Debary |
| Event State | FLORIDA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 32753 |
| Event Date Year | 2013 |
| Event Date Month | 1 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 285259N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0811831W |
| Event Location Airport | N/A |
| 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 | 1753 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 355 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | SFB |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 55 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 7 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Night/Dark |
| 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) | 23 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 16 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 130 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 10 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.13 |
| 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 | 4 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 31955 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Operator - NetJets |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 24 2013 4:23PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N662QS |
| NTSB Number | ERA13IA114 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91 Subpart K: Fractional |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | None |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | CESSNA |
| Aircraft Model | 560XL |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 560-5262 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 20200 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 2 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | 7 |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 9 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | AAIP |
| Date of Last Inspection | Aug 29 2012 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 8990 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | C91-A |
| Aircraft Owner Name | NETJETS SALES INC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | C/O NETJETS SALES INC |
| Aircraft Owner City | OKLAHOMA CITY |
| Aircraft Owner State | OK |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 73102-8601 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | NetJets Aviation, Inc. |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Columbus |
| Operator State | OH |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | -- |
| Operator Code | DXTK |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| 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 | Non-scheduled |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | Domestic |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | Passenger Only |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | -- |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | FPR |
| Departure City | Fort Pierce |
| Departure State | FL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1752 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | PDK |
| Destination City | Atlanta |
| Destination State | GA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 24 2013 4:24PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| 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 | -- |