Praker Thorp T18C accident near Phoenix, AZ
On May 24, 1994, a Praker Thorp T18C (airplane) was involved in an accident near Phoenix, AZ. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- May 24, 1994
- Place
- Phoenix, AZ
- Aircraft
- Praker Thorp T18C · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 33.681°N, 112.090°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001206X01274
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On May 24, 1994, at 1329 mountain standard time, a Praker home built Thorp T18C, N86BP, was destroyed when it impacted the ground about 1/2 mile southeast of the Deer Valley Municipal Airport, in Phoenix, Arizona. The airplane, flown by a commercial pilot, had just departed on a local test flight. There was no flight plan filed and visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The pilot, the sole occupant, received fatal injuries. The pilot, who was an acquaintance of the owner/builder, offered to test fly the airplane which had recently been completed. The first test flight took place earlier in the day, after which the pilot told the owner that he needed to maintain about 35 pounds of forward pressure on the stick to maintain level flight. The pilot and the owner subsequently removed the stabilator anti-servo tab control arms and modified them by bending, then reinstalled the arms. The pilot then initiated the second test flight. The tower had cleared the flight for a left turn out after takeoff; however, the controllers noticed the airplane turning right and queried the pilot. He replied "I got problems here." The airplane was observed entering a steep right bank, nose high attitude at between 1,000 and 1,500 feet AGL and then enter a two turn spin to the right. The witnesses stated that the spin stopped, but immediately reversed itself and the airplane was spinning left until they lost sight of it. The airplane impacted in a land fill adjacent to the airport. The initial start and taxi and both takeoffs were recorded on video tape. The video of the taxi
Probable cause
THE PILOT'S INABILITY TO PREVENT AN INADVERTENT STALL AND HIS INABILITY TO RECOVER DUE TO A RESTRICTION IN THE MOVEMENT OF THE STABILATOR FOR UNDETERMINED REASONS. A FACTOR WAS THE FAILURE OF THE OWNER/BUILDER AND THE PILOT TO ACCOMPLISH A CONTROL RIGGING CHECK PRIOR TO THE FLIGHT.
More accidents in AZ
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Browse: Arizona
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
