- Date
- February 25, 1989, 15:15 local (21:15 UTC)
- Place
- Jacksonville, AR
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N7580DPiper PA-18
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 26, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Safety recommendations
- Yes
- FAA report
- 19890225002569A
- Case key
- 34674
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
Severe corrosion of the left forward wing lift strut which resulted in the in-flight separation of the left wing. A contributing factor was inadequacy of the applicable service bulletin.
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
Two witnesses heard a loud noise from the acft as it was in flt. They looked up & noted the left wing of the acft had failed. Subsequently, the acft spun to the gnd & crashed in a wooded area. An exam of the wreckage revealed the left forward lift strut had failed, aprx 6 inches from where it was attached to the fuselage. A metallurgical exam revealed the inside of the strut had become corroded & the strut had failed in an area where its wall had corroded to a knive edge (less than 0.001 inch). The thickness of the non-corroded portion of the wall was 0.38 inch. A chemical test of theinside surface showed the presence of a corrosion inhibitor (val-oil) in the non-corroded areas. However, no inhibitor could be fnd where severe corrosion had occurred. Two faint lines resembling water marks were fnd in the strut. Log bookentries showed that AD 77-03-08 & Piper svc bulletin #528B had been complied with. A toxicology check of the plt's bloodwas positive for alcohol (0.04%), but there was no indcn that this was related to the strut failure.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7580D
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-5874
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Scott Aero Service Inc.
- Registered owner
- Scott Aero Service Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 16, 1989 · 6 hours before
- Departed
- Perry, AR
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
- 40
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 15,000 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 220° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LIT, 22 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.
Other investigations on N7580D · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.