LAX08FA134

The operator noted that the airplane was overdue from a practice upset recovery training flight. Shortly thereafter, the wreckage was located in flat desert terrain about 10 miles east of the airport. The two occupants were located approximately 50 feet from the airplane wreckage and were wearing parachutes. The instructor pilot’s parachute was found to have been activated and partially deployed. The pilot under instruction's parachute had not been activated. Examination of onboard video and audio recordings revealed that the pilot under instruction was seated in the front cockpit and the instructor pilot was seated in the rear cockpit. The crew intended to perform a maneuver that consisted of the first half as a climbing vertical loop with a snap-roll executed at the top, then continue through the back half of the loop. The pilot under instruction, in the front seat, had the controls for this maneuver. At the top of the loop, as the airplane entered into the snap-roll portion of the maneuver, the airplane’s nose dropped and it entered an erect spin. The pilot in the front cockpit stated that something broke. The instructor in the rear cockpit verbalized the recover procedures, then concurred that there was something wrong with the rudder; he released the canopy and gave the command to get out. The pilot in the front cockpit released his harness and moved to sit on the left-hand canopy rail over a period of 14 seconds. It was not until the front pilot was completely out of his seat before the video showed the rear pilot moving to position himself on the left canopy rail, which took 9 seconds. They both fell backwards out of the cockpit nearly simultaneously 23 seconds after the canopy had been released. The estimated altitude that the airplane was at when the crew bailed out was 246 feet above ground level. Multiple examinations of the rudder system did not reveal any evidence of a rudder malfunction or jam.

History of flight

On May 9, 2008, at 1317 Mountain standard time, an Extra Flugzeugproduktions-und Vertriebs-GmBH EA-300/L, N133EE, collided with desert terrain near Queen Creek, Arizona. The airplane was operated by Aviation Performance Solutions (APS) under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The commercial pilot, serving as an instructor, and the airline transport pilot were killed, and the airplane was substantially damaged. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a company flight plan was filed. The flight originated at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, Phoenix, Arizona, about 1243.

The operator noted that the airplane was overdue from a practice upset recovery training flight. About 1430 the operator and the Mesa Police Air Support located the wreckage in flat desert terrain about 10 miles east of the airport. The two occupants were located approximately 50 feet to the north of the airplane wreckage and were wearing parachutes. The instructor pilot’s parachute was found to have been activated and partially deployed. The pilot under instruction's (PUI) parachute had not been activated. No radio distress call by the aircrew was heard by any agency.

Radar data revealed that at 1313:56 the airplane was on a northeasterly track at 5,600 feet msl. A radar return at 1314:04 placed the airplane at 5,300 feet, in a slight descent. At 1314:15, the radar data showed that the airplane was operating in an area approximately 800 feet across, and the altitude increased to 6,100 feet, then decreased to 2,300 feet. The last radar return was at 1314:46 at an altitude of 2,300 feet. The wreckage was located within a few hundred feet of the last radar return.

The airplane was equipped with video and audio recording equipment; the recordings were recovered by investigators. The end of the video showed the airplane entering a vertical loop, performing a roll at the top of the loop that progressed into a left turning spin. The aircrew then stated that there was something wrong with the rudder control, the canopy opens, and the aircrew proceeded to egress. A full description of the video and audio is included in the Test and Research section of this report.

According to the operator, the purpose of the instructional flight was to practice airplane upset recovery which involved aerobatic maneuvers.

Personnel information

Instructor (Commercial Pilot, Rear Cockpit)

The pilot, age 57, held a commercial pilot certificate with airplane single-engine, multi-engine, and instrument ratings, issued on July 13, 2004. He held a flight instructor certificate issued on November 14, 1984, with ratings for airplane single-engine land and instrument. He also held an airframe and powerplant mechanic certificate, issued on July 13, 2004. The pilot held a second class medical certificate issued on December 12, 2007, with the restrictions that he wear corrective lenses. An examination of the pilot’s logbook revealed that as of May 8, 2007, he had 2,208.6 total hours, 269.2 hours in the Extra 300L, and his biennial flight review was dated 25 April, 2008. The pilot served 6 years in the US Air Force flying F-105's and F-4's, 2 years in the Kansas Air National Guard flying F-4's, had 20 years of experience flying competitive aerobatics, and was the 1995 Arizona State Advance Aerobatics Champion. He had been employed by APS since May 2007, and his primary duties were aerobatic upset recovery and spin instruction.

Pilot Under Instruction (Airline Transport Pilot, Front Cockpit)

The second pilot, age 35, held an Airline Transport Pilot certificate issued on October 12, 2004, with airplane single-engine and multi-engine land ratings, airplane single-engine and multi-engine sea ratings, and held private pilot privileges for rotorcraft-helicopter. The pilot held type ratings for the Bombardier CL604 and the Hawker HS-125. A flight instructor certificate, was issued on February 21, 2007, for single and multi-engine airplane, and instrument airplane. An airframe and powerplant mechanic certificate, was issued on April 16, 1996. The pilot held a first class medical certificate, issued on February 25, 2008, with the limitation that he must wear corrective lenses. On his medical application he indicated that he had 6,100 hours of flight time, and had accumulated 100 hours within the last 6 months. The pilot was employed as a professional pilot, and the training with APS was contracted by his company.

Aircraft information

The tandem seat, low wing, fixed-gear, single-engine, aerobatic airplane, serial number 09, was manufactured in 1995. It was powered by a Lycoming AEIO-540-L1B5, 6-cylinder, fuel injected engine, and equipped with an MT-Propeller 3-bladed constant speed propeller, model MTV-9-B-C/C 200-15. An examination of the maintenance logbooks showed that the most recent 100-hour airframe inspection was completed on April 17, 2008, at 1,734.13 hours total time. A 25-hour inspection was performed on May 1, 2008, at 1763.1 hours total time. A 100-hour inspection on the engine was completed on April 17, 2008; total time on the engine was 2,512.86 hours, time since major overhaul (TSMOH) was 582.3 hours. A 25-hour inspection on the engine was completed on May 1, 2008, TSMOH was 701.33 hours. The most recent inspection on the propeller was an 100-hour inspection on April 17, 2008.

Wreckage and impact

The wreckage was located approximately 10 miles east of the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, Phoenix, Arizona, in flat desert terrain. The terrain elevation was measured using a GPS receiver as 1,633 feet mean sea level (msl). The terrain was sparsely populated with desert scrub bushes. The airplane was orientated from tail to nose, on a bearing of 112 degrees magnetic. The entire airplane was embedded into the desert floor such that the fuselage was protruding into the air at an approximately 45-degree angle. The wings were attached to the fuselage and in their generally normal position relative to the fuselage. The tail had separated from the empennage and laid approximately 3 feet directly in front of the fuselage. Canopy glass was shattered and was scattered immediately around the wreckage. The canopy frame had come off the fuselage hinge and was in three pieces in the vicinity of the tail section. Both wings exhibited leading edge delamination and paint chipping/pealing along their entire length. The nose and engine of the airplane was removed from a 4 foot by 4 foot, by 22 inch deep indentation in the ground. Aileron spades, elevator, and rudder balance weights were attached to their respective control surface. Four to five larger pieces of canopy glass were located approximately 300 feet to the northwest of the wreckage. Examination of the engine and propeller revealed no evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunction.

Detailed examination of the airplane control system revealed that the right wing aileron control tubes were attached to the bell cranks from the wing root out to the aileron; the control tube at the wing root was buckled and separated. The left aileron control tubes were continuous to the cockpit. The elevator control tube was separated at the bell crank rod end bearing behind the rear cockpit in a fashion consistent with overload. The opposite end of the elevator control tube was separated and bent at the elevator bell crank rod end bearing, consistent with overload. Rudder cable ends were attached to the rudder horn. The rudder cables ran forward from the rudder horn 30.25 inches (right side) and 30.0 inches (left side), both ending in broomstrawed ends at the approximate location where the entire tail separated from the fuselage. The remaining rudder cables were traced forward and found to run through the appropriate guides and pulleys, with the ends attached to airframe structure forward of the rear cockpit pedals. The forward cockpit rudder pedal cables were