# Accident 19970320003339A: Garcia TROJANA2, Stillwell, OK, March 20, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 20, 1997, 17:35 local time
- Place: Stillwell, OK
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Descent
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 35.8100° N, 94.6297° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.8100&lon=-94.6297&mi=10
- Aircraft: N86T, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N86T-2013-03-07) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Teschendorf TROJAN-CASSUTT SPORT (registry code 197048F, https://openairdocs.org/model/teschendorf-trojan-cassutt-sport) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental 0-200 series (registry code 17020, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-200-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: GARCIA TROJANA2
- Reported engine: CONT O200A
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 6,527 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW97FA135](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW97FA135) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970320003339A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

AIRCRAFT WINGS CAME APART WHILE AIRCRAFT MAKING A PASS OVER AIRPORT. (.4) THE PILOT (PLT) DEPARTED COOKSON, OK, IN A HOMEBUILT AIRCRAFT (ACFT) FOR AN APPROXIMATE 30 MINUTE FLIGHT TO STILWELL, OK. WITNESSES AT STILWELL SAID HE MADE A LOW PASS ON A NORTHERLY HEADING (ABOUT 50 FT OFF THE GROUND) AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED. ONE WITNESS ESTIMATED THE ACFT WAS TRAVELING FASTER THAN 200 MPH, WHEN HE SAW THE ACFT'S RIGHT WING SKIN SEPARATE FROM THE ACFT. THE RIGHT WING THEN CAME OFF. THE ACFT WAS OBSERVED TO ROLL SEVERAL TIMES & TRAVEL ABOUT 1100 FT BEFORE IT IMPACTED THE GROUND. POSTIMPACT EXAMINATION OF THE WRECKAGE REVEALED A FRACTURE IN THE WING SPAR ABOUT 18 INCHES IN FROM THE RIGHT WING TIP. THERE WAS A DISCOLORATION IN THE FRACTURE, WHICH HAD THE APPEARANCE OF A VARNISH LIKE SUBSTANCE. AN FAA INSPECTOR REPORTED THAT 'THERE WERE DIFFERENT COLOR GLUE JOINTS IN THE WING CONSTRUCTION INDICATING THAT THERE WERE DIFFERENT KINDS OF GLUE USED.' ALSO, THE FAILURE MODE DIFFERED; THE DARK GLUE JOINTS FAILED IN THE WOODEN STRUCTURE, WHERE AS, THE OTHER GLUE JOINTS FAILED IN THE BOND. SOME OF THE WING JOINTS THAT HAD FAILED HAD DISCOLORATION BETWEEN THE RIB & THE WOODEN SKIN.                       THE INSPECTOR SUGGESTED THAT 'EITHER IMPROPER CLAMPING DURING CONSTRUCTION, PREVARNISHING OF THE CONTACT SURFACES, OR BOND SEPARATION FOLLOWED BY MOISTURE WEATHERING COULD HAVE CAUSED THIS.' THE PLT HAD PURCHASED THE HOMEBUILT ACFT ON 10/1/96. IT HAD BEEN ORIGINALLY CERTIFICATED FOR FLIGHT ON 10/27/72. ON 2/11/73, IT HAD BEEN DAMAGED DURING A TAKEOFF MISHAP, & 'NEW WING CONSTRUCTION' HAD BEEN PERFORMED. (-23) AIRCRAFT WAS FLYING NORTH BOUND PARALLEL TO THE RUNWAY AT THE CHEROKEE NATION AIRPORT IN STILWELL, OR, WHEN THE R/H WING BEGAN TO BREAK APART, THEN SEPARATE FROM THE AIRCRAFT CAUSING LOSS OF CONTROL. AIRCRAFT IMPACTED THE GROUND APPROXIMATELY 290 FEET EAST OF THE RUNWAY. DEBRIS FROM THE R/H WING WAS DISCOVERED APPROXIMATELY 850 FEET SOUTH OF THE IMPACT POINT.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB FTW97FA135](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW97FA135), Mar 20, 1997: Teschendorf Cassutt Sport (N86T), Stilwell, OK, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: failure of the right wing spar and/or debonding of the right wing skin, which resulted in separation of the wing skin and a portion of the right wing, during high speed flight. Factors related to the…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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