CEN16LA019

The commercial pilot was conducting a personal local flight. Two witnesses reported observing the airplane lift off in an extreme nose-high attitude, level off, and then reenter a nose-high attitude before it descended and impacted the ground 1,500 ft south of the runway. After the accident, the pilot told the airport manager that the flight controls had jammed during takeoff. The airport manager reported that he examined the airplane and that all of the flight controls moved freely. During subsequent examination, flight control continuity from the cockpit controls to all of the flight control surfaces was confirmed, and all of the flight controls moved freely. The floorboards were removed to check for debris, but none was found. The pilot reported that the last flight in the airplane was flown by another pilot who had mentioned to him that someone in the service center had given him a red foam block with a streamer, which he had placed between the elevator and the horizontal stabilizer as instructed. The accident pilot stated that he did not see the foam block or feel it during the control checks, which were normal. The recovery crew, airport manager, and insurance adjuster reported that they did not find a red foam block with a streamer.

On October 9, 2015, about 1230 mountain daylight time, a Quest Kodiak 100, N153RW, impacted terrain during takeoff at Sheridan County Airport (KSHR), Sheridan, Wyoming. The pilot, the sole occupant on board, was seriously injured. The airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan had been filed. The local flight was originating at the time of the accident. The pilot told the airport manager that the flight controls had jammed during takeoff. The airport manager examined the airplane and said all flight controls moved freely. The elevator trim was ½ units nose up. Flaps were fully deployed (35 degrees). The engine condition lever was in the feathered position. Two airport mechanics who witnessed the accident said the airplane lifted off in an extreme nose-high attitude, leveled off, and then assumed a nose-high attitude again before descending and impacting the ground about 1,500 feet south of runway 24. On October 20, 2015, representatives from the National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Aviation Administration, and Quest Aircraft Company examined the airplane at Beegles Aircraft Service in Greeley, Colorado. Flight control continuity was traced from the cockpit controls to all flight control surfaces. All controls moved freely. The floorboards were removed and checked for any debris. None was found. The Hobbs meters (flight and block) read 23.9 and 28.2 hours, respectively. The altimeter was set to 30.06 inches of mercury, or 1021.5 millibars, and indicated 4,800 feet msl (above mean sea level). Data cards from the airplane's multi-function and primary function displays (MFD, PFD) data cards were retrieved and sent to the National Transportation Safety Board's Vehicles Recorders Division for readout. According to the specialist's report, the cards "contained firmware version and navigation databases that did not record data. No accident related data was recovered from the SD cards." According to an e-mail from the pilot, "the last flight was flown. . .by . . ., the other pilot trained to fly the plane. [He] had gone with me to [a] reunion in Wichita to get more experience in the plane and spent most of the time with the people in the service center. He does not live here in Sheridan and came over on Friday to see how things were going. He mentioned to me that someone in the service center had given him a foam block that, when wedged in the elevator, [it raises it] enough that people in the shop would not bump their heads. He had placed the block as instructed before going home and if he had told me about it, I had certainly forgotten it. If it would have been red with a removable streamer I certainly would have seen it. I am not sure why I did not feel it in the control check. Maybe due to the seat position and mylack of familiarity with the control input range. In any event I believe that the foam block placed between the horizontal stabilizer and the elevator was the primary factor for the accident and that the block should have been discovered by me during the preflight or the pre-takeoff check." The recovery crew, airport manager, and insurance adjuster were contacted. No one remembered seeing a red foam rubber block with a streamer. The airport manager did say that on the evening of the accident, the pilot's wife went to the airplane and removed personal belongings.