ATL96FA051

The pilot was conducting a practice aerobatic flight, with two aerobatic pilots critiquing him from the ground. About ten minutes into the flight, the pilot initiated a pull toward the vertical with about 360 km/hr and 7 Gs, according to witnesses. This would have been well within the maximum airspeed and load specifications of 450 km/hr and 10 Gs, respectively. The right wing of the airplane separated during the pull up. The airplane entered a right roll and an uncontrolled descent, then it collided with the ground about 1 mile north of the airport. According to witnesses, the engine was developing power until impact, and the pilot did not announce any malfunctions or problems, prior to the wing failure. A postcrash ground fire consumed the fuselage. The unburned right wing was found about 3/4 mile east of the main wreckage. Testing of the wing spar was performed by the NTSB and MAK (Russian Investigative Authorities). Both agencies found numerous voids in the composite spar caps. The investigation revealed evidence that the curing process for the wing spar did not provide adequate vacuum pressure. There was evidence that during the curing process, the fibers separated from each other, which resulted in voids in the final composite material.

History of flight

On February 20, 1996, about 1143 eastern standard time, a Sukhoi SU-31, N31MX, collided with the ground at Immokalee Airport, Immokalee, Florida. The experimental airplane was operated by the pilot/owner under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91, and visual flight rules. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. A flight plan was not filed for the local, aerobatics practice flight. The airline transport pilot was fatally injured, and the airplane was destroyed. Origination of the flight was Immokalee, Florida, on the same day, about 1133.

The pilot, who was a former member of the U.S. Aerobatics Team, was conducting a practice aerobatics flight in a designated aerobatics box. Two aerobatics pilots were critiquing him from the ground, and witnessed the entire flight. One witness, the U.S. Aerobatic Team coach, was in contact with the pilot via a hand held radio, and the other witness was standing at his side. These two witnesses believe that their estimations of airspeed, G loading, and altitude are accurate. The witnesses stated the following: the airplane had been airborne for about 10 minutes. The same maneuver had been executed during this flight approximately three times prior to the final maneuver. The airplane was about 2,500-3,000 feet above the ground level and began a 35-45 degree dive. The pilot performed three wing rocks to the left to signal the start of the maneuver. The pilot leveled off at 700 feet with about a 6 G pull said one witness. The other witness said, at this point there was neither a rapid pitch rate nor a high G force. The airplane remained level for approximately 1 second, then the pilot initiated a pull toward the vertical about 380 km/hr and 8 Gs. The other witness estimates about 340 km/hr and 4.5-6 Gs. At approximately 15-20 degrees pitch up, the right wing of the airplane separated up and aft hitting the canopy. The airplane entered a right roll climbed for about 200-300 feet, then entered an uncontrolled descent. The airplane collided with the ground about 1 mile north of the airport. According to the witnesses, the engine was developing power until impact, and the pilot did not announce any malfunctions or problems, prior to the wing failure. A post crash ground fire consumed the fuselage. According to witnesses, the unburned right wing was found about 3/4 mile east of the main wreckage.

One of the witnesses had observed all of the flying performed in this airplane on the three previous days. He stated that all of the maneuvers were well within the limits of the airplane.

Personnel information

The pilot was certificated as an Air Transport Pilot with F-27 and B-737 type ratings. He had more than 16,000 total flight hours. According to the pilot's friend, the pilot had approximately 800 hours in the SU-26, and about 10 hours of aerobatics in the SU-31. He added that the pilot had not been feeling well on Thursday, February 15, but did not appear ill on the day of the accident. No pilot logbooks were obtained.

Aircraft information

The airplane was registered to the pilot. The original generator had been replaced with an alternator that was 35 pounds lighter. An inspection placing the airplane into service was conducted on February 15, 1996. Maintenance records indicated that 11 hours had been logged on this airframe with 11 hours since the inspection.

Weight and Balance Sukhoi SU-31 S/N 03-03

Item Weight(kg) Arm(m) Moment Original Empty Weight 733.8 1.339(20.5%) 982.558 Removed Russian Generator -12.7 0.625 -7.938 Removed Gen. Control Tray -7.14 1.616 -11.538 Removed Ni-Cad Battery -3.29 0.816 -2.685 Installed B+C Generator 1.72 0.625 1.075 Installed Sealed Lead Acid Battery 4.76 0.816 3.884 Inst. Russian Comm. Radio 2.83 2.20 6.226

New Empty Weight and Moment 719.98kg 971.582 New Empty Weight C.G. 1.349m 21.01%MAC **Date 15 February, 1996**

Estimated Fuel 54.4 1.307 71.14 Estimated Pilot Weight 75.22 2.74 206.12 Estimated Weight and Moment 849.6 1248.84 Estimated Airplane C.G. 1.47m 28.87%MAC

The maximum weight allowed for takeoff in the SU-31 was 1,100 kg., and the maximum landing weight was 1,050 kg. The C.G. in the any weight configuration should have been between 24.0%MAC and 31.5%MAC.

Meteorological information

Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. Additional meteorological information may be obtained in this report on pages 3 and 4 under section titled Weather Information.

Wreckage and impact information

The wreckage was found approximately one mile north of Immokalee Airport, with the exception of the right wing which was found intact 3/4 of a mile east of the main wreckage. The majority of the wreckage was consumed by a post crash fire.

Examination of the radial engine revealed that the throttle valve was nearly closed, the throttle arm was found one quarter above the idle stop, and the left magneto was destroyed by fire. The composite propeller blades were broken off, and the propeller control arm was broken off. The exhaust system was compressed fore and aft.

The canopy handle was in the locked position. The rudder pedal stops had no evidence of pounding, the rubber bumpers were absent. The rudder cable on the right side showed evidence of tensional overload, 10 inches forward of the rudder horn. The top of the rudder was separated, but the counterweight was in place, severe fire damage was noted here. The left wing was consumed by fire.

The right wing separated from the airframe at the root rib outboard of the wing/fuselage juncture. The web between the spar caps was irregularly torn. The upper spar cap had a white granular substance around the strands of carbon fiber. The integral fuel tank in each wing has a rubberized lining and is bonded to the forward side of the web. The right wing fuel tank was punctured in conjunction with two rib bolts. The root rib aft of the wing spar was deformed and bulged inboard. The top of the wing was compressed and exhibited compressive buckling at the junction of the upper spar cap. A red paint transfer mark was found approximately 12 inches outboard of the wing root, adjacent to the inboard side of the aileron. All three aileron cut outs were crushed aft, and there was a spanwise wrinkle forward of the aileron. The right aileron push/pull rod was fractured 4 inches outboard of the root.

Medical and pathological information

On February 21, 1996 a postmortem examination was conducted by Marta U. Coburn, MD District 20 Medical Examiners Office, 870 6th Avenue North, Naples, FL 33940. The toxicological examination performed during the autopsy revealed no ethanol or other drugs, but did find 1.8% carboxyhemoglobin.

Tests and research

Sections of the right wing spar and the right spar attach point at the fuselage were sent to the Safety Board's laboratory in Washington DC for inspection. The inspection started with a basic evaluation of the wing construction. The wing spar was a single unit running from wingtip to wingtip. The spar was composed of a web made from honeycomb and carbon mesh, and upper and lower spar caps. The cross section of the main spar was symmetrical, as was the airfoil. The spar caps were made from unidirectional carbon fiber tape with a few layers of woven fabric. The web of the main spar consisted of a woven carbon fiber fabric and unidirectional carbon fibers bonded to the forward and aft sides of a honeycomb core. The spar cap had a thickness of about 7.84 mm in the area of the fracture. The web and the spar caps were cured at the same time to form a one piece spar. The spar was attached to the airplane skin using doublers that extended about 400 mm outboard of the wing attach fittings. The doublers, the skin, and the spar cap were connected by titanium bolts.

The separation of the wing occurred