20090623017659A

Accident · Substantial damage

FAA accident report · Urbana UFM-13 LAMBADA · Boerne, TX · June 23, 2009

Date: June 23, 2009 · 12:30 local
Place: Boerne, TX
Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Substantial damage
Aircraft: N17UA
NTSB investigation: NTSBCEN09LA379
Reported as: Urbana UFM13LAMBADA
People aboard: 1
Fatal injuries: 0
Other injuries: 0
Pilot’s flight hours: 632 total10 in this make and model10 in the last 90 days

N17UARegistration cancelled Apr 22, 2013 · Urban Air Sro UFM-13 LAMBADAS/N 113/13 Airframe modelUrban Air Sro UFM-13 LAMBADA Engine modelRotax 912ULS series4 cycle

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

(-23) Pilot was at cruse at 3000 ft AGL. Aircraft started an extreme violent vibration. Lasting approximatey 2 to 3 seconds, then had a hard nose down attitude. Pilot deployed and aircraft ballistic parachute. Aircraft came down nose first with substantial damage with no injuries to the pilot. The extreme vibration was caused by the apparent in-flight failure of the aircraft fuselage tail boom, just forward of the tail empennage.

As the FAA filed it

(-23) PILOT WAS AT CRUSE AT 3000 FT AGL. AIRCRAFT STARTED AN EXTREME VIOLENT VIBRATION. LASTING APPROXIMATEY 2 TO 3 SECONDS, THEN HAD A HARD NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE. PILOT DEPLOYED AND AIRCRAFT BALLISTIC PARACHUTE. AIRCRAFT CAME DOWN NOSE FIRST WITH SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE WITH NO INJURIES TO THE PILOT. THE EXTREME VIBRATION WAS CAUSED BY THE APPARENT IN-FLIGHT FAILURE OF THE AIRCRAFT FUSELAGE TAIL BOOM, JUST FORWARD OF THE TAIL EMPENNAGE.

NTSB investigation

The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.

NTSB CEN09LA379Accident · No injuriesLimited investigationFinal reportBourne Stage, TXThe pilot’s exceedance of the aircraft’s placarded never-exceed speed (Vne), resulting in aerodynamic flutter in the empennage and the subsequent in-flight structural failure of the aft portion of the fuselage.Jun 23, 2009 · Substantial damage