20000428011409A

(-23) On April 28, 2000, at approx. 1130 MDT, N724CF, an RV-4 , ost control on alnding at the Los Alamos Airport, Los Alamos, NM. The a/c was piloted by marilyn hutchins, commercial pilot #1696874, the pilot was the sole occupant on board and received no injuries. The flight was conducted under VMC. The winds reported at 180 at 10 knots at lam. The pilot landed on runway 27 at Los Alamos approx. 1700' down the runway. During landing the pilot reported hitting hard and bouncing into the air. She realigned the a/c and attempted to land again. Again, bouncing and becoming airborne again. On the third attempt she lost control of a/c and left runway. After leaving runway, she attempted to add full power and attempted a go around. Attempting to climb and trying to miss hitting a boundary fence, the pilot banked hard right, lost speed and control of a/c hitting the ground. No injuries. (.4) on April 28, 2000, at 1130 mountain daylight time, a hutchins RV4, N724CF, sustained substantial damage when it departed the side of the runway during landing roll at Los Alamos, new Mexico, at the completion of a flight from pagosa springs, Colorado. The commercial pilot/flight instructor and sole occupant was not injured. The flight was operating under the provisions of title 14 CFR part 91 and no flight plan was filed. During impact, the main landing gear collapsed, the firewall was damaged, and the propeller was daamged. The propeller bore chordwise damage and aft bending of both blades. Pictures provided by the FAA airworthiness inspector who examined the a/c depicted both propeller blades to be in a "feathered" position. Teh type of propeller installed cannot be placed in a feathered position by pilot input from the cocpit. According to the pilot, the UNICOM reproted the wind to be calm, but the windsock was "standing straight out". The pilot said she landed "harder than normal, bounced, and came down a second time and the airplane started to veer to the left." In her statement, she said when she "hit the dirt", she applied full power, climbed, and made a steep turn to avoid hitting the chain link fence which separates the airport from the highway. When above the fence, with wings level, she said the airplane was "slammed" to the gorund. In her accident report, the pilot indicated the wind direction was variable at 10 knots. She did not indicate that gusts were present. According to the pilot, the temperature was approx. 75 degrees fahrenheit. The airport elevation is 7,171 feet above mean sea level. Using the above figures, the density altitude was calculated to be approx. 9,600 feet. According to the airport manager and information provided by the pilot, winds at Los Alamos can vary from one part of the runway to another. A review of safety board records provided only one previous accident with wind as a factor. Wind was not listed as a cause on any previous accident at the airport. After the accident, the owner took the propeller to new Mexico, inc., where it was disassembled. The propeller shop reported that the pitch change rod was broken internally on both sides of the fork. According to information provided by hartzell propellers, this type of damage is a common finding following a hard impact of the propeller. It occurs when one blade is forced to change pitch without the "cooperation" of the other parts. According to hartzell, this forces the pitch change rod into a "z" shape that fractures the rod on both sides of the fork. This condition is not unusual and is the result of impact damage. Hartzell engineering said that "no pitch change rod failures have been reported on this type propeller," and no failure have ever been reported that resulted in a "-1" compact propeller going to an extreme high blade angle greater than the high pitch stop in flight.