20090427010849A

04/28/2009 15:30 STARTED ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION OF CANADIAN REGISTERED AIRCRAFT REPORTED 3 NAUTICAL MILES WEST OF HAMILTON AIRPORT NY, (H30). 16:30 DEPARTED FSDO. ACCIDENT SITE IS APPROXIMATE 1.5 MILES SOUTH OF WESTCOTT ROAD IN TOWN OF EATON, NY. SITE WAS A WOODED AREA ON LOGGING ROAD AND ACCESSIBLE WITH UTILITY TYPE VEHICLES. AIRCRAFT IS A CANADIAN REGISTERED ADVANCED ULTRA LIGHT AND WAS REPORTED OVERDUE AT DESTINATION (UNKNOWN AT THIS TIME) AFTER DEPARTING NORWICH, WARREN EATON AIRPORT, NY (O1C) AT APPROX 16:30 LOCAL ON 04/27. WRECKAGE WAS DISCOVERED BY PROPERTY OWNER AT APPROXIMATE 14:00 04/28 WHO IMMEDIATELY NOTIFIED NYS POLICE WHICH ARRIVED ON SCENE AT APPROX 15:00 WITH HELICPOTER SUPPORT. 18:50 NOTIFIED BY NTSB THAT TEAM WOULD BE ARRIVING THE NEXT MORNING. 18:55 ARRIVED ON SCENE AND BEGAN COORDINATION WITH NYS POLICE FOR INFORMATION AND SECURE SCENE. REPRESENTATIVES OF MEDICAL EXAMINER WERE ON SCENE AND WERE PROVIDED WITH TOX BOX. NYS POLICE HELICOPTER HAD LOACATED AN AIRCRAFT WING APPROXIMATELY ONE QUARTER MILE FROM CRASH SITE. TWO ADDITIONAL AIRCRAFT PARTS WERE LOCATED IN THE VICINITY OF WING WITH ONE PART, LATER IDENTIFIED AS AN AIRCRAFT CONTROL SURFACE, ELEVATOR, APPROXIMATELY 400 FEET FROM MAIN WRECKAGE. PARTS WERE IN A DIRECTION GENERALLY SOUTH EAST OF MAIN CRASH SITE. PHOTOS TAKEN OF THREE LOCATED PARTS AND NYS POLICE HAD ESTABLISHED GPS LOCATIONS. AN AIRCRAFT LOG BOOK WAS FOUND NEAR WRECKAGE WITH AIRCRAFT INFORMATION PAGE FILLED OUT BUT OTHERWISE BLANK NO FLIGHT OR MAINTENANCE INFORMATION ENTERED. RAIN AND DARKNESS PREVENTED ANY FURTHER INVESTIGATION. NYS STATE POLICE PROVIDED SECURITY AT ACCESS POINT OVER NIGHT. 20:00 DEPARTED SITE AND RETURNED TO OFFICE. 04/29/2009 07:00 DEPARTED FSDO WITH FOUR WHEEL DRIVE VEHICLE AND COORDINATED A MEETING LOCATION WITH NTSB INVESTIGATORS IN ROUTE FROM MID-ATLANTIC REGIONAL OFFICE. 09:00 ALB FSDO MANAGER NOTIFIED FAA EASTERN REGION OF INVESTIGATION. ARRIVED AT ACCESS POINT WITH NTSB TEAM, ESTABLISH CONTACTS WITH NYS POLICE. TWO NTSB INVESTIGATORS, ONE NYS POLICE INVESTIGATOR AND THIS INSPECTOR PROCEEDED TO CRASH SITE. WRECKAGE WAS LOCATED AT THE BASE OF A LARGE HARDWOOD TREE AND TWO ADJACENT SMALLER TREES. IMPACT DAMAGE TO TREE AND MAJORITY OF WRECKAGE WAS ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF TREE. LACK OF DAMAGE TO ANY SURROUNDING TREE TOPS AND BARK DAMAGE ON LARGER TREE INDICATED A NEAR VERTICAL IMPACT WITH TREE AND GROUND. A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF BARK WAS MISSING FROM TREE FROM APPROXIMATE 20 FEET ABOVE GROUND DOWN TO WRECKAGE. TWO GOUGE MARKS INDICATED ROTATING PROPELLER IMPACT. ENGINE, FIREWALL, INSTRUMENT PANEL AND PILOT WERE LOCATED AT THE BASE OF LARGER TREE. PROPELLER HUB AND GEAR BOX WAS BROKEN FROM ENGINE AND WAS LOCATED IN WRECKAGE ON SOUTH SIDE OF TREE, PROPELLER BLADES WERE BROKEN IN FOUR PIECES AND ALL ACCOUNTED FOR. AIRCRAFT CONSTRUCTION WAS LIGHT FIBERGLASS TYPE AND FOAM COMPOSITE WHICH BROKE APART EXTENSIVELY ON IMPACT. IT APPEARED MANY BONDING SURFACES FAILED ON IMPACT OR IN-FLIGHT. AS NTSB INVESTIGATORS CONDUCTED INVESTIGATION AT ACCIDENT SITE NYS POLICE INVESTIGATOR AND THIS INSPECTOR VERIFIED AND MARKED LOCATION PARTS FOUND THE PREVIOUS EVENING. A PART NOT LOCATED PREVIOUSLY, IDENTIFIED AS WING LIFT STRUT WAS FOUND AND MARKED. NTSB INVESTIGATORS WERE THEN LEAD TO THESE LOCATIONS. THE ELEVATOR, WING SECTION AND LIFT STRUT FOUND AWAY FROM MAIN WRECKAGE WERE RETRIEVED AND WILL BE ANALYZED AT NTSB LAB. THE LEFT WING WAS INSPECTED IN SITUATION IN TREE, BUT NOT RECOVERED AS CONTROL CABLE WERE TANGLED IN TREE AND RECOVERY IMPRACTICAL AT THIS TIME. GPS DISTANCE FROM MAIN WRECKAGE WAS .29 MILE. ELT WAS LOCATED WITH SWITCH IN OFF POSITION AND FELT WEIGHT OF ELT WAS EXTREMELY LIGHT FOR TYPE AND SIZE OF UNIT, IT IS SUSPECTED THAT BATTERY WAS NOT INSTALLED. NO BATTERY REPLACEMENT DATE WAS INDICATED ON ELT. UNIT WAS CONTAMINATED AND NOT DISASSEMBLED. TWO ELECTRONIC DISPLAYS WERE RECOVERED AND WILL BE ANALYZED AT NTSB LAB. ALL MAJOR COMPONENTS OF AIRCRAFT WERE RECOVERED AND IDENTIFIED EXCLUDING THE RIGHT HORIZONTAL STABILIZER. IT IS NOT CLEAR IF THIS PART DEPARTED THE AIRCRAFT PRIOR TO IMPACT OR WAS DESTROYED ON IMPACT. NO FLIGHT PLAN OR RADAR INFORMATION IS 16:00, ON SITE INVESTIGATIOIN COMPLETED, NYS PLOICE RELEASED BY NTSB. A "DECLARATION OF COMPLIANCE" DATED JULY 2, 2008 SIGNED BY THE MANUFACTURE/OWNER/PILOT CONTAINED THE REQUIRED RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT THAT THE AIRCRAFT MEETS LAMAC DESIGN STANDARD DS10141E AMDT. 003 AND A "CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRATION OF AIRCRAFT" FORM NUMBER 26-0478 DATED 10 JULY 2008, OWNERS REGISTRATION DATE AND 7 AUGUST 2008 WERE FOUND IN WRECKAGE. A SPECIAL FLIGHT AUTHORIZATION WAS NOT FOUND. NOTE, CANADIAN ADVANCED ULTRA LIGHT IS NOT ISSUED AN AIRWORTHINESS CERTIFICATE, BUT IS ISSUED A CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRATION WHEN THE OWNER APPLIES FOR THAT REGISTRATION WITH A DECLARATION OF COMPLIANCE FROM THE MANUFACTURER. IN THIS CASE THEY ARE THE SAME PERSON. THE AIRCRAFT MUST BE LISTED ON A LIST OF ELIGIBLE MANUFACTURERS. A SPECIAL FLIGHT AUTHORIZATION IS REQUIRED TO OPERATE IN THE US AND IS AVAILABLE ON FAA.GOV IN A DOWNLOADED FORM WHICH IS SIGNED BY THE OPERATOR AND KEPT IN THE AIRCRAFT WHILE IN THE US. 05/08/2009 AT THE REQUEST OF NTSB RETURNED TO ACCIDENT SITE FOR RECOVERY OF WING LIFT STRUT, LANDING GEAR AND SUPPORTING STRUCTURE COMPONENTS. ADDITIONAL DETAILED PHOTOS TAKEN OF VERTICAL STABILIZER AND RUDDER ASSEMBLY AND HORIZONTAL STABILIZER AND ATTACHMENT DETAILS. CANADIAN CLAIMS ADJUSTER AND SALVAGE COMPANY ARRIVED ON SCENE TO INSPECT AND REMOVE WRECKAGE. POC ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, AIRCLAIMS INTERNATIONAL INC. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. WRECKAGE WILL BE QUARANTINED BY AIRCLAIMS UNTIL CONCLUSION OF INVESTIGATION.