# Accident 20191224018889A: Wells Bret WELLS ROCKET, Suffolk, VA, December 24, 2019

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 24, 2019, 14:20 local time
- Place: Suffolk, VA
- Airport: Suffolk Executive
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Maneuver
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 36.6397° N, 76.5234° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.6397&lon=-76.5234&mi=10
- Aircraft: N230BW (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: WELLS BRET WELLS ROCKET
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Airline transport
- Pilot flight hours: 2,738 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA20LA080](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA20LA080) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20191224018889A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

WHILE PERFORMING LIGHT AEROBATICS A LOUD NOISE WAS HEARD AND A BUFFET WAS FELT BY THE PILOT. SECONDS LATER A NEGATIVE G NOSE OVER OCCURRED. THE PILOT WAS ABLE TO RECOVER AND LAND THE AIRCRAFT AT PVG AIRPORT WHERE AN EXAMINATION OF THE AIRCRAFT FOUND THAT THE RIGHT HORIZONTAL STABILIZER HAD SEPARATED FROM THE AIRCRAFT AND THE RIGHT ELEVATOR WAS BENT DOWNWARDS.

## 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 ERA20LA080](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA20LA080), Dec 24, 2019: Team Rocket F-1 F-1 (N230BW), Suffolk, VA, substantial damage. Probable cause: A structural failure of the horizontal stabilizer during aerobatic maneuvers near the airplane’s never-exceed speed. Contributing to the failure was the construction of the horizontal stabilizer that…

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.

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