ATL93LA092

The commercial pilot was conducting a maintenance test flight to evaluate a new propeller installation. The airframe total time was about 7 hours. The pilot was the designer and builder of the experimental aircraft. During the flight, he reported a loss of elevator authority. He bailed out of the aircraft, and the aircraft crashed into a wooded, swampy area. An examination of the flight control system revealed that a rod end fitting had disconnected, rendering the elevator ineffective. The pilot reported that he would change the design of the fittings to incorporate cotter pins for added security on future aircraft

On May 13, 1993, at about 1000 eastern daylight time, a Jones Lightning Bug 2, N200NJ, crashed near Walterboro, South Carolina, following a reported loss of elevator control. The commercial pilot had minor injuries. The home built aircraft was owned and operated by the pilot. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions existed at the time, and no flight plan was filed for the local, maintenance test flight. The flight originated at the Walterboro Municipal Airport at about 0940.

The pilot reported the following: The purpose of the flight was to flight test a new propeller installation. He departed from runway 23 at the Walterboro Airport. During the flight, at about 1,500 feet mean sea level (MSL), he observed that the elevator control had become inoperative. He bailed out of the aircraft, and the aircraft crashed in a wooded, swampy area.

The wreckage was found on May 24, 1993. An airworthiness inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration examined the recovered wreckage and the design drawings of the elevator control system. The inspector reported that an aft rod end fitting, part number MD3614, in the elevator system had disconnected (unscrewed) from the aft end of the elevator push pull tube.

The pilot, who also designed the aircraft, reported that he plans to change the design of the elevator system to incorporate cotter pins at rod end fittings for added security.