# Accident 20011113030059A: Propjt 200D, Houston, TX, November 13, 2001 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: November 13, 2001, 09:15 local time - Place: Houston, TX - Airport: David Wayne Hooks Memorial Arp - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Climb - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 29.6104° N, 95.1191° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.6104&lon=-95.1191&mi=10 - Aircraft: N28PC, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N28PC) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Aero Commander 200D (registry code 0140312, https://openairdocs.org/model/aero-commander-200d) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Continental IO-520 series (registry code 17032, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-520-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PROPJT 200D - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 460 total, 110 in this make and model, 110 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW02LA032](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW02LA032) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20011113030059A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (.19) ON NOVEMBER 13, 2001, AT 0920 CENTRAL STANDARD TIME, AN AERO COMMANDER 200D, N28PC, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED IN CRUISE FLIGHT AFTER EXPERIENCING AN ELEVATOR CONTROL ANOMALY NEAR HOUSTON, TEXAS. THE AIRPLANE WAS REGISTERED TO THREE PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS AND OPERATED BY THE PILOT. THE COMMERCIAL PILOT, WHO WAS THE SOLE OCCUPANT, WAS NOT INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND AN INSTRUMENT FLIGHT RULES (IFR) FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 91 PERSONAL FLIGHT. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM THE WEST HOUSTON AIRPORT, HOUSTON, TEXAS, AT 0915. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, FIVE MINUTES INTO THE FLIGHT, THE AIRPLANE BEGAN TO VIBRATE, ACCOMPANIED BY "STICK SHAKING". SUBSEQUENTLY, THE PILOT REDUCED POWER AND EXECUTED AN EMERGENCY LANDING TO THE DAVID WAYNE HOOKS MEMORIAL AIRPORT LOCATED NEAR SPRING, TEXAS. EXAMINATION OF THE AIRPLANE BY THE PILOT REVEALED DAMAGE TO THE ELEVATOR AND HORIZONTAL STABILIZER. (-23) PILOT REPORTED THAT HE DEPARTED MINERAL WELLS, TX ON AN IFR FLIGHT. TEN MINUTES LATER AT 4000 FT WITH AUTOPILOT ENGAGED THE AIRCRAFT STARTED TO VIBRATE. ABOUT TEN SECONDS LATER THE AIRCRAFT SUDDENLY GAINED ALTITUDE BY 3 00 FT AND SHOOK VIOLENTLY. THE PILOT DECLARED AN EMERGENCY AND DIVERTED TO DWH. AS THE SPEED WAS REDUCED FROM 165 MPH TO 120 MPH THE SHAKING DECREASED. INSPECTION OF THE AIRCRAFT REVEALED THE THE OUTBOARD HINGE OF THE LEFT ELEVATOR REMOVED A 1" X 2 1/2" PIECE OF MATERIAL FROM THE HORIZONTAL STABILIZER AND THEN SEPARATED. MAINTENANCE RECORDS REVEALED THAT REPAIRS WERE PERFORMED ON THE LEFT ELEVATOR AND THE AUTOPILOT SYSTEM. (.4) THE AIRPLANE DEPARTED ON AN IFR FLIGHT PLAN AND TEN MINUTES HAD ELAPSED WHEN A VIBRATION IN THE AIRFRAME WAS FELT, WHICH GRADUALLY INTENSIFIED. THE PILOT OBSERVED THAT THE HORIZONTAL STABILIZER WAS SHAKING WITH MORE INTENSITY THAN THE REST OF THE AIRPLANE. THE VIBRATION CONTINUED TO INTENSIFY TO THE DEGREE THAT THE COCKPIT INSTRUMENTS WERE UNREADABLE. THE PILOT DECLARED AN EMERGENCY TO AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL AND INITIATED AN EMERGENCY DESCENT. HE THEN SLOWED THE AIRPLANE TO 120 KNOTS AND THE VIBRATION SUBSIDED; HOWEVER, THE VIBRATION WAS STILL APPARENT. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE AIRPLANE LANDED, AND WHEN THE PILOT EXITED THE AIRPLANE, HE OBSERVED THAT THE LEFT ELEVATOR WAS HANGING 3-4 INCHES LOW, AT THE OUTBOARD END. EXAMINATION OF THE AIRPLANE B Y AN FAA INSPECTOR REVEALED THAT THE OUTBOARD LEFT ELEVATOR HINGE HAD SEPARATED FROM THE HORIZONTAL STABILIZER. A SECTION OF THE AFT SPAR HAD SEPARATED FROM THE HORIZONTAL STABILIZER AND REMAINED ATTACHED TO THE ELEVATOR HINGE. ADDITIONALLY, THE LEFT ELEVATOR TRIM TAB PUSH ROD HAD SEPARATED IN TWO PLACES. APPROXIMATELY 10 FLIGHT HOURS PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT, SEVERAL DENTS WERE FOUND ON THE LEFT ELEVATOR. THE REPAIR STATION REPORTED THAT DURING THE REPAIR, RIVETS ON A PORTION OF THE ELEVATOR WERE REMOVED, AND THEN REPLACED WHILE THE ELEVATOR REMAINED ATTACHED THE HORIZONTAL STABILIZER. THEY ADDED THAT NO ABNORMAL STRESSES WERE PLACED ON THE ELEVATOR HINGE ATTACHMENTS DURING THE REPAIRS. ## 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 FTW02LA032](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW02LA032), Nov 13, 2001: Aero Commander 200D (N28PC), Houston, TX, substantial damage. Probable cause: the failure of the left outboard elevator attachment, which resulted in the partial separation of the left elevator and induced an airframe vibration. 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.