CHI08FA196

The sport pilot departed in a Special – Light Sport Aircraft (S-LSA) from a grass airstrip and impacted the terrain. The accident site was located within the traffic pattern about where the turn from a left downwind to a left base leg would be made. There were no witnesses to the accident and there was no recorded radar track data of the accident flight. The damage to the airplane indicated that it impacted the terrain in about a 30-degree nose-down attitude in a left bank. The inspection of the airframe revealed no preexisting anomalies. The engine was put on an engine test stand and it operated through the full range of rpm settings. The stall speed at the maximum gross weight with wings level and the engine at idle is 39 mph.

The inspection of the pilot’s shoulder harness revealed that the single strap of the shoulder harness that attached the harness to the rear cabin bulkhead was separated from the shoulder harness yoke where it was stitched to the shoulder straps. The stitching had failed at the attach point. The accident airplane was classified as a LSA and as such, was not certified by the Federal Aviation Administration. LSA’s are described as “self certifying,” indicating that they are certified as airworthy by the manufacturer.

After a review of the pilot’s autopsy findings, it was determined that some of the pilot’s injuries would have been less severe if the shoulder harness had not failed. However, due to the severity of the crash, the resulting injuries were likely to still be fatal.

History of flight

On July 21, 2008, about 1030 central daylight time, a Czech Aircraft Works Sport Cruiser, N602CF, sustained substantial damage when it impacted terrain near Cushing Field (0C8), Newark, Illinois. The sport pilot received fatal injuries. The airplane was registered as a Special - Light Sport Aircraft (S-LSA), and was operated as a rental airplane by Sport Pilot Chicago, located at 0C8. The 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight departed 08C about 1030 on a local flight. There were no witnesses to the accident. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed.

A witness who was employed at the airport reported that he had returned to 0C8 about 1030. He observed the airplane takeoff from runway 36 (2831 feet by 80 feet, grass), but he did not continue to watch it. A pilot flying at the airport spotted the airplane in a bean field at 1300. The accident site was located within 0C8's traffic pattern about where the turn from a left downwind to a left base leg would be made. A small notepad was found in the cockpit that indicated that the airplane had departed with the Hobbs meter reading 76.5 hours. The Hobbs meter read 76.7 hours at the accident site.

Personnel information

The 77-year-old pilot held a Sport Pilot certificate with a single-engine land rating. The pilot was flying under Sport Pilot rules, and did not have (and was not required to have) an FAA medical certificate. The pilot’s logbook indicated that he received his Student Pilot certificate on June 27, 2006. He received his Sport Pilot certificate on February 23, 2007, and had flown about 50 flight hours in certificated airplanes. At the time of the accident, the pilot had flown about 104 hours in certificated airplanes and about 42 hours in ultra-light airplanes. He had about 19 hours in the make and model of the accident airplane.

An instructor pilot reported that the pilot had contacted him so that he could get re-familiarized with the Sport Cruiser, even though he was a certificated Sport Pilot and had flown the Sport Cruiser in the fall of 2007. On June 24, 2008, the instructor pilot flew with the accident pilot who demonstrated proficiency in basic flight maneuvers that included slow-flight, steep turns, stalls, and emergency procedures. The instructor pilot reported that the accident pilot demonstrated good “preparation, use of checklists, airplane control, attention to detail, demonstration of proficiency and safety.”

Aircraft information

The airplane was a single-engine Czech Aircraft Works Sport Cruiser, serial number 08SC129, manufactured in 2008. It was equipped with a 100 horsepower Rotax 912 ULS engine. The two seat aluminum airplane had a maximum gross weight of 1,320 pounds. The last conditional inspection was conducted in May 2008. The airplane had a total of 76.7 flight hours at the time of the accident.

The airplane’s stall speed with the flaps in the extended position (Vso) is 37 mph. The stall speed at the maximum gross weight with wings level and the engine at idle is 39 mph.

Meteorological information

At 1025, the surface weather observation at DeKalb Airport (DKB), located about 25 miles northwest, was: Wind calm, visibility 10 statute miles, clear, temperature 22 degrees Celsius (C), dew point 20 degrees C, altimeter 29.92 inches of Mercury.

At 0952, the surface weather observation at Aurora Airport (ARR), located about 16 miles north, was: Winds 140 degrees at 4 knots, visibility 9 miles, clouds broken 2,500 feet, overcast 15,000 feet, temperature 22 degrees C, dew point 21 degrees C, altimeter 29.88 inches of Mercury.

Wreckage and impact information

The airplane wreckage was located in a bean field and was 1.16 miles from 0C8 on a 211 degree bearing. The wreckage path from the initial impact point to the main wreckage was about 68 feet on a 168 degree heading. A shallow impact crater about 3 feet in diameter was located near the initial impact point. The nose landing gear was located near the impact crater. Pieces of the composite propeller blades and the composite main landing gear, which separated from the fuselage, were located in the debris field between the initial impact point and the main wreckage. Fuel blight was observed on the bean plants, but there was no post impact ground fire.

The airplane was found oriented on a westerly heading. Two propeller blades were broken at the propeller hub and the third blade was still attached to the hub, but it had impact damage. The engine was still attached to the engine firewall and exhibited minimal damage. The firewall was crushed aft at about a 30 degree angle. The cabin floor under the instrument panel was crushed aft and buckled on both the right and left side. The top of the pilot’s control stick was broken off. The pilot’s seat pan was found crushed downward. The pilot’s shoulder harness was found separated at the stitching where the shoulder harness webbing is stitched to the strap that was secured to an aft bulkhead.

The left wing exhibited more impact damage than the right wing. The left wing exhibited aft buckling at the wing root. The left wing’s outboard section was bent upward and aft, although the leading edge of the left wing was not crushed aft. The left wing fuel tank was compromised. The left flap and aileron were partially broken away from the wing, although both remained attached to the wing.

The right wing was intact, but was found buckled forward at the wing root. The leading edge had some damage, but did not exhibit aft crushing. The outboard section of the right wing exhibited buckling. The fuel tank remained intact. The right flap was found disengaged from the flap actuation pin. The right aileron was intact.

The canopy was found in the open position by first responders at the accident site. The forward edge of the canopy bow was crushed aft. The canopy glass was intact with no cracks visible. The canopy frame exhibited impact damage on the left front side aft of the attachment point. The canopy lifting struts and the attachment hardware exhibited no impact damage. The left and right canopy latches were bent.

The empennage was found undamaged. The vertical and horizontal stabilizers had no impact marks. The elevator trim tab was found in a slight down (nose up) trim setting.

The flight controls exhibited continuity from the flight controls to the flight control surfaces. The engine was put on an engine test stand. It was started and it operated through the full range of RPM settings.

Medical and pathological information

An autopsy of the pilot was conducted on July 22, 2008, in Crest Hill, Illinois. The “Cause of Death” was noted as “Multiple blunt force trauma sustained as the pilot of an airplane involved in an airplane mishap.” A Forensic Toxicology Fatal Accident Report was prepared by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Civil Aeromedical Institute. The report indicated negative results for carbon monoxide, cyanide, and ethanol. Diltiazem and Irbesartan were detected in the blood and urine. Diltiazem and Irbesartan are commonly used to treat high blood pressure.

Tests and research

The pilot’s Lowrance AirMap 1000 global positioning system (GPS) was found in the airplane wreckage. The track data that was stored on the 32-megabite memory card was downloaded and plotted on a sectional chart. The Lowrance AirMap 1000 GPS only recorded latitude and longitude data, and did not contain time or altitude information. The last flight recorded indicated that the flight originated from Cushing Field and flew to Waukegan Airport, and then returned to Cushing Field. The time and date of the last recorded flight could not be determined by the GPS data. There was no track data recorded of the accident flight.

The pilot’s and co-pilot’s seat belt and shoulder harness assembl