- Date
- May 9, 1998, 14:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- Falcon, CO
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N194ECEller BD-5B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 31, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19980509015359A
- Case key
- 20599
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The vibration induced overload failure of the canopy holdback fitting resulting in reduced control capability. A factor was partial failure of one propeller blade for unknown reasons.
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
While on a local test flight, the aircraft developed a violent vibration and the canopy partially separated causing control of the aircraft to be reduced. To prevent a stall the pilot had to maintain an exaggerated nose down attitude with the aircraft and conducted a full stall hard landing short of the runway. Postcrash examination revealed that one of the wooden propeller blades had cracked. The examination did not provide any evidence that would have caused the blade strike, weakness in the wood, or inadequate laminate bonding.
Factual narrative
On May 9, 1998, at 1400 mountain daylight time, an experimental Eller BD-5B, N194EC, impacted terrain when the canopy partially separated during a test flight near Meadow Lake Airport, Falcon, Colorado. The airline transport certificated pilot, and sole occupant, received serious injuries and the aircraft sustained substantial damage. No flight plan was filed for this local area flight operating under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed.
According to the pilot, he had conducted glide and power off stall tests and was making a low pass in the pattern when the aircraft began a violent vibration and involuntarily entered a left turn. The pilot said he corrected the turn and the canopy partially separated due to vibration. Due to the drag from the canopy, the pilot had to maintain a 20 to 35 degree nose down attitude to prevent the aircraft from entering a stall. He said he raised the nose and entered a full stall condition just prior to impact with the ground.
Examination of the aircraft by an FAA airworthiness inspector provided evidence of a crack in one blade of the wood propeller between 15 and 18 inches inboard from the blade tip. The blade was sent to the National Transportation Safety Board Materials Laboratory for examination. The laboratory report is attached and states that the blade contained no obvious area of mechanical damage but was cracked about one half to two thirds through the cross section of the blade arm. The laboratory examination found no evidence of weakness in the wood and no evidence of inadequate bonding between the plies of wood.
The aircraft examination also provided evidence that the canopy holdback fitting was fractured. The fitting was removed and it was also sent to the Materials Laboratory for examination. The laboratory report is attached and states that the fracture faces were typical of overstress.
The propeller and canopy holdback fitting were returned to the owner/builder following examination.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N194EC
- Reported as
- Eller BD-5B
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1994
- Airframe hours
- 12
- Engine
- Suzuki 635CC, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Registered owner
- Eller Construction, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- 00V
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
- 50
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 4,477 total · 2 in this make and model · 4,477 as pilot in command · 23 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 59 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- COS, 12 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.