20110215005219A

An Airborne windsport edge XT-912-L weight-shift-control light sport aircraft, N29EP, was substantially damaged when it impacted the water near Hanapepe, Hawaii. The sport pilot instructor and the passenger sustained fatal injuries. The aircraft sank in 50 feet of water and was recovered 7 days after the accident. The aircraft was being operated by the pilot under 14 code of federal regulations part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local instructional flight. The aircraft departed from Port Allen Airport, Hanapepe, about 1045.according to witnesses, the aircraft was maneuvering near the edge of a cliff. One witness stated that the aircraft pulled up and then immediately plunged into the ocean.2-16-11HNL FSDO inspectors herman rios and tom brehm arrived on the island of kauai to investigate special light sport weight shift control aircraft (slsa wsc) accident.2-23-11FAA hnl FSDO inspector lance johnson (lej) is reassigned as FAA iic for the afore mentioned accident. Inspector lej met with NTSB inspector at kauai's Port Allen boat harbor. A dive crew was on site to recover wreckage from the ocean at crash site. Dive crew extracted wreckage 2.8 miles east of Port Allen Airport wreckage was lifted from the water with airbags and towed from the site to the dock where it was loaded onto a flat bed truck and secured at a civil air patrol hanger at the lihue airport.3-8-11 & 3-9-11ARRIVED at the lihue storage hanger to conduct an in depth analysis of the wreckage. Personnel present at the investigation: FAA hnl FSDO inspector lance johnsonfaa inspector merritte wilson engine manufacture representative rob seaton airframe/wing manufacture, engineer rick duncanntsb investigator jim struhsaker local slsa wsc subject matter expert, denise sanders to facilitate a thorough inspection, the wing was separated from the airframe and the wing sail was removed from the wing frame. An inspection of the wing frame revealed damage to the left forward wing support tube, wing tip and left crosstube. The wing tip was broken in half approximately 3 feet from tip and entire left tube was arched in an aft direction, but the tip itself was bent forward. The crosstube was also broken on the left side; this break was consistent with torsional overload. The wing sail was torn in several places likely due to impact damage and towing the aircraft behind the boat from the crash site to the dock. The sail fabric was tested in accordance with the manufactures procedures using a "bettsometer". According to the manufacture the minimum acceptable level of pull without tearing the fabric or stitching is 1360 grams. The top side fabric was tested in several locations and failed at aprox 600 to 675 grams as did the top stitching. The bottom side was within limits after testing in several locations. This test was performed by light sport repairman certificate holders, denise sanders and rick duncan & observed by FAA inspector lance johnson. An inspection of the airframe indicated the left side had received heavy impact loads and damage. This was most evident by the broken/bent landing gear struts, bent and broken tubing of the main fuselage frame, wing mast/mount, large dents in the fuel tank and damage to engine components from contact with left side landing gear. The composite propeller was missing 2 of the three blades and the tension and compression fractures at the root showed a break basically aft in direction. Cylinder thumb compressions and valve train continuity checked & no defects were noted. An attempt to the start the engine was made the engine fired but ran rough likely due to carburetor or corrosion damage. A complete tear down in spection of the engine was completed and no anomalies were found other damage resulting from the accident.