- Date
- January 9, 1983, 11:00 local (15:00 UTC)
- Place
- Chugiak, AK
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N37875Willbird 2
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19830109002089A
- Case key
- 4066
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
As the aircraft lifted off, the nose pitched up alarmingly and application of full down elevator control had no apparent effect. The pilot was able to lower the nose by extending full flaps. However, he was unable to latch the manual flaps in the down position and the efforts to hold the flaps down was beyond his physical endurance. As the flaps retracted, the nose pitched up and the aircraft stalled at about 100 ft AGL. The aircraft then fell off on the left wing and pitched nose down. It crashed through power lines and birch trees in a slight nose, left wing 40 deg down, attitude. An investigation revealed that a hinge bearing component of the stabilator control had failed. Subsequently, the stabilator moved forward which slackened the stabilator control cables and resulted in loss of pitch control. The pilot/owner of the homebuilt aircraft recommended welding (rather than brazing) heavily stressed bearings or use cast, forged or machined pillow blocks. The plane had 229 hrs total flt time.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N37875
- Reported as
- Willbird 2
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1
- Airframe hours
- 229
- Engine
- Continental IO-360-D, 210 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Dalea. Williams
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 28, 1982 · 10 hours before
- Departed
- Chugiak, AK
- Flight plan
- VFR
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 31
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 662 total · 229 in this make and model · 642 as pilot in command · 15 in the last 90 days · 12 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 12 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ANC, 16 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.