# Accident 20160324002599A: Wendall Hall ROCKET II, Cheraw, SC, March 24, 2016 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: March 24, 2016, 08:30 local time - Place: Cheraw, SC - Airport: Cheraw Municipal/Lynch Bellinger Fi - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 34.7228° N, 79.8828° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.7228&lon=-79.8828&mi=10 - Aircraft: N729PS, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N729PS-2018-08-25) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Wendell Hall ROCKET II (registry code 05634QZ, https://openairdocs.org/model/wendell-hall-rocket-ii) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming O-540-A1D5 (registry code 42324, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-540-a1d5) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: WENDALL HALL ROCKET II - Reported engine: LYCOMING O-540 - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 1 - Other injuries: 0 - Pilot certificates: Airline transport - Pilot flight hours: 13,289 total, 35 in this make and model - NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA16LA139](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA16LA139) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20160324002599A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ON MARCH 24, 2016, ABOUT 0750 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME, AN EXPERIMENTAL AMATEUR-BUILT HARMON ROCKET II, N729PS, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED WHEN IT IMPACTED TERRAIN NEAR CHERAW, SOUTH CAROLINA. THE AIRLINE TRANSPORT PILOT WAS FATALLY INJURED. THE FLIGHT DEPARTED CHERAW MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (CQW), CHERAW, SOUTH CAROLINA, ABOUT 0715. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE LOCAL PERSONAL FLIGHT, WHICH WAS CONDUCTED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF TITLE 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 91. WITNESSES OBSERVED THE AIRPLANE FLYING AT OR NEAR "TREETOP HEIGHT" AT SEVERAL LOCATIONS IN AND AROUND THE TOWN OF CHERAW ON THE MORNING OF THE ACCIDENT. ONE WITNESS, WHO WAS WORKING ALONGSIDE THE PEE DEE RIVER, STATED THAT JUST PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT THE AIRPLANE WAS FLYING ALONG THE RIVER AT TREE TOP LEVEL WHEN IT STRUCK A POWER LINE. EXAMINATION OF THE ACCIDENT SCENE BY A FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA) INSPECTOR REVEALED THAT TWO POWER LINE CABLES WERE FOUND SEVERED ABOUT MID-SPAN BETWEEN TWO TOWERS, ONE ON EACH EITHER SIDE OF THE RIVER. THE AIRPLANE CAME TO REST ON A WOODED ISLAND ABOUT 150 YARDS NORTH OF THE POWER LINE CROSSING, AND ABOUT 50 YARDS WEST OF THE RIVER BANK. DAMAGE TO THE TREES SURROUNDING THE WRECKAGE WAS CONSISTENT WITH A NEAR VERTICAL DESCENT. THE AIRPLANE CAME TO REST IN A NOSE DOWN, INVERTED ATTITUDE. THE UPPER SURFACE OF THE ENGINE COWLING AND CANOPY WERE CRUSHED, BOTH WINGS EXHIBITED LEADING EDGE DAMAGE CONSISTENT WITH SEVERAL TREE IMPACTS, AND THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR HAD SEPARATED AT THE FUSELAGE. THE EMPENNAGE WAS PARTIALLY SEPARATED FROM THE FUSELAGE AND BENT UPWARD AND FORWARD WITH SEVERE CRUSHING IN THE AFT DIRECTION. ONE SECTION OF POWER LINE CABLE WAS FOUND NEXT TO THE FUSELAGE, ANOTHER WAS FOUND WRAPPED AROUND THE ENGINE COWLING. FLIGHT CONTROL CONTINUITY WAS CONFIRMED FROM THE CONTROL STICK AND RUDDER PEDALS TO THE AILERONS AND RUDDER, AND FROM THE CONTROL STICK THROUGH AN OVERLOAD FRACTURE IN THE PUSH-PULL TUBE, TO THE ELEVATOR. THE ENGINE CRANKSHAFT WAS FRACTURED IN OVERLOAD JUST AFT OF THE FLYWHEEL. THE FLYWHEEL, PROPELLER, SPINNER, AND HUB REMAINED ATTACHED TO ONE ANOTHER AND WERE FOUND NEAR THE REAR OF THE MAIN WRECKAGE. THE PROPELLER EXHIBITED GOUGE MARKS IN THE LEADING EDGE THAT WERE THE SIZE OF THE POWER LINE DIAMETER, AS WELL AS SCRAPE MARKS ON THE LEADING EDGE AND REAR OF THE BLADE THAT WERE CONSISTENT WITH IMPACT WITH THE CABLE. BOTH BLADES EXHIBITED S-BENDING. ACCORDING TO FAA RECORDS, THE PILOT HELD AN AIRLINE TRANSPORT PILOT CERTIFICATE WITH RATINGS FOR AIRPLANE SINGLE ENGINE LAND, AIRPLANE MULTIENGINE LAND, AS WELL AS A FLIGHT ENGINEER CERTIFICATE. HIS MOST RECENT FAA FIRST-CLASS MEDICAL CERTIFICATE WAS ISSUED FEBRUARY 25, 2016. HE REPORTED 13,289 TOTAL HOURS OF FLIGHT EXPERIENCE, AND 31 HOURS IN THE SIX MONTHS PRIOR TO THAT DATE. A WITNESS REPORTED THAT THE PILOT HAD ACCRUED APPROXIMATELY 35 HOURS IN ACCIDENT AIRPLANE MAKE AND MODEL. AN ELECTRONIC PRIMARY FLIGHT DISPLAY AND ENGINE MONITOR SYSTEM WAS RECOVERED FROM THE ACCIDENT SITE AND FORWARDED TO THE NTSB VEHICLE RECORDER LABORATORY FOR EXAMINATION. ## 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 ERA16LA139](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA16LA139), Mar 24, 2016: Hall, Wendall W Harmon Rocket II (N729PS), Cheraw, SC, substantial damage, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's decision to fly at low altitude, which resulted in a collision with power lines. 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.