# Incident 20240817013109I: Dehavilland DH115 VAMPIRE, Latrobe, PA, August 17, 2024 - Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: August 17, 2024, 15:00 local time - Place: Latrobe, PA - Airport: Arnold Palmer Regional - Damage: Minor damage - Phase of flight: Landing: Approach - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 40.2731° N, 79.4103° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at ARNOLD PALMER RGNL (LBE), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.2731&lon=-79.4103&mi=10 - Aircraft: N115DH, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N115DH) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Dehavilland DH115 VAMPIRE (registry code 2804001, https://openairdocs.org/model/dehavilland-dh115-vampire) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Amateur-built UNKNOWN ENG (registry code 99999, https://openairdocs.org/engine/amateur-built-unknown-eng) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: DEHAVILLAND DH115 VAMPIRE - Reported engine: AMA/EXPR UNKNOWN ENG - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Other injuries: 0 - Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot - Pilot flight hours: 4,000 total, 1,000 in this make and model, 100 in the last 90 days - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20240817013109I ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ON SATURDAY, AUGUST 17, THE PILOT COMPLETED AN AEROBATIC ROUTINE DURING AN AIRSHOW. THE WIND WAS ROUGHLY 10 KNOTS FROM A HEADING OF 240 DEGREES WITH GUSTS TO APPROXIMATELY 12 KNOTS. THE PILOT BEGAN A SHALLOW APPROACH TO LAND ON RUNWAY 24. A LONG, LOW, SHALLOW APPROACH IS A NORMAL PROCEDURE FOR THIS PILOT IN THIS PARTICULAR AIRCRAFT DUE TO IT BEING AN ANTIQUE JET FIGHTER WITH UNIQUE BRAKING AND GO-AROUND CHARACTERISTICS. THE PILOT LATER REPORTED THAT HE PERCEIVED A DECREASE IN THE APPROXIMATELY 10-KNOT HEADWIND, AND HE FELT THAT THE HEADWIND DECREASE CAUSED THE AIRCRAFT TO SINK SEVERAL FEET JUST BEFORE TOUCHDOWN. JUST BEFORE TOUCHDOWN, THE PILOT HEARD A METALLIC “PING” SOUND. THE PILOT THOUGHT THAT HE MAY HAVE STRUCK EITHER A BIRD OR THE LIGHT POLES THAT ARE PART OF THE APPROACH LIGHTING SYSTEM. THE PILOT LANDED SAFELY. THE PILOT IMMEDIATELY INSPECTED HIS AIRCRAFT AND FOUND DENTS IN THE WING FLAPS. THE PILOT THEN PROMPTLY FOUND THE FAA INSPECTOR WHO WAS SERVING AS THE AIR SHOW IIC AND REPORTED WHAT HAD HAPPENED. THE FINAL ACT OF THE AIR SHOW WAS IN PROGRESS AT THAT TIME. THE FAA INSPECTOR WHO WAS SERVING AS THE AIR SHOW IIC WENT WITH THE PILOT TO INSPECT THE AIRPLANE. THE FAA INSPECTOR WHO WAS SERVING AS THE AIR SHOW IIC OBSERVED SIGNIFICANT DENTS ON THE BOTTOM SURFACES OF THE INBOARD WING FLAPS OF BOTH WINGS. THE FINAL ACT OF THE AIR SHOW ENDED. THE FAA INSPECTOR WHO WAS SERVING AS THE AIR SHOW IIC, THE PILOT, THE AIR BOSS, THE AIRPORT MANAGER, ANOTHER FAA OPERATIONS INSPECTOR, AND ONE OF THE AIR BOSS’S EMPLOYEES DROVE TO THE BEGINNING OF THE PAVEMENT AND OBSERVED DAMAGE TO THE APPROACH LIGHTING SYSTEM. THE PORTION OF THE APPROACH LIGHTING SYSTEM THAT WAS DAMAGED NORMALLY CONTAINS 5 UPRIGHT METAL POLES APPROXIMATELY 4 FEET HIGH AND APPROXIMATELY 2 FEET APART WITH ONE LIGHTBULB AT THE TOP OF EACH POLE FACING AWAY FROM THE RUNWAY. THE PORTION OF THE APPROACH LIGHTING SYSTEM THAT WAS DAMAGED IS APPROXIMATELY 100 FEET FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE PAVEMENT. 3 OF THE 5 METAL POLES WERE LAYING DOWN AND WERE LEANING TOWARD THE RUNWAY. EACH GLASS LIGHTBULB AT THE TOP OF THE 3 POLES THAT WERE LAYING DOWN HAD BEEN SHATTERED. ONLY THE 2 CENTER POLES WERE UPRIGHT. THE AIRPORT MANAGER CONFIRMED THAT THE APPROACH LIGHTING SYSTEM HAD BEEN INSPECTED THAT MORNING AND HAD BEEN UNDAMAGED AT THAT TIME. WHEN EVERYONE HAD RETURNED TO THE RAMP, THE FAA INSPECTOR WHO WAS SERVING AS THE AIR SHOW IIC AND ANOTHER FAA OPERATIONS INSPECTOR CALLED THE ROC, BRIEFED THEIR OFFICE MANAGEMENT, AND PROVIDED THE PILOT WITH A PILOT’S BILL OF RIGHTS WRITTEN NOTIFICATION OF INVESTIGATION. THE FAA INSPECTOR WHO WAS SERVING AS THE AIR SHOW IIC AND ANOTHER FAA AIRWORTHINESS INSPECTOR INSPECTED THE AIRPLANE AGAIN. THE FAA INSPECTORS NOTED THAT THE CIRCULAR IMPRESSION ON THE RIGHT INBOARD WING FLAP WAS CONSISTENT WITH THE SIZE AND SHAPE OF THE TYPE OF LIGHTBULB THAT HAD BEEN ON THE TOPS OF THE UPRIGHT METAL POLES. THE FAA INSPECTOR WHO WAS SERVING AS THE AIR SHOW IIC OBSERVED STILL IMAGES TAKEN FROM A VIDEO OF THE AIRCRAFT LANDING. IN THE IMAGES, THE 5 METAL POLES ARE VISIBLE BEFORE THE AIRCRAFT REACHES THEM. THE IMAGES THEN SHOW THE AIRPLANE LOSE ROUGHLY 5 FEET IN ALTITUDE. AFTER THE AIRCRAFT PASSES THE METAL POLES, THE IMAGES THEN SHOW ONLY THE 2 CENTER POLES REMAINING UPRIGHT. THE NEXT DAY, THE FAA INSPECTOR WHO WAS SERVING AS THE AIR SHOW IIC CONDUCTED COUNSELING WITH THE PILOT. THE PILOT EXPLAINED THAT A LONG, LOW, SHALLOW APPROACH IS NECESSARY FOR HIS AIRCRAFT TO BE IN A SAFE POSITION TO EXECUTE A GO-AROUND IF NECESSARY. THE PILOT ALSO REPORTED THAT HE THOUGHT THE APPROXIMATELY 10-KNOT HEADWIND HAD DECREASED, CAUSING HIM TO SINK JUST BEFORE HE HEARD THE METALLIC “PING” SOUND. AT THE END OF THE COUNSELING SESSION, THE PILOT AGREED THAT HE COULD INCREASE HIS APPROACH BY SEVERAL FEET DURING GUSTY CONDITIONS TO GUARD AGAINST ALTITUDE LOSS DUE TO AN UNEXPECTED DECREASE IN HEADWIND. THE PILOT EXHIBITED A COOPERATIVE AND CONSTRUCTIVE ATTITUDE. ## Other reports on N115DH (2) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Incident 20150926016809I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20150926016809I), Sep 26, 2015: Dehavilland DH115 VAMPIRE (N115DH), Pontiac, MI, Minor damage. Aircraft landed runway 27. Taxing back on "c" taxiway. During post landing cockpit cleanup procedures, pilot inadvertently selected the gear handle to the… - [Incident 19940720040529I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19940720040529I), Jul 20, 1994: Amtrvp VAMPIRE (N115DH), San Antonio, TX, Minor damage. Narrative: after an uneventful personal flight on July 20, 1994 at 11:30 CDT, N115DH, a de havilland model MK55, registered to richard brinkman landed and… 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.