2009 Experimental RV-7 Collision with Terrain Near Elim, Alaska (N303BK)

Accident Overview and Flight Details On June 9, 2009, at approximately 1632 Alaska daylight time, an experimental Bruce D. R. Harden RV-7 with registration N303BK collided with terrain roughly 0.1 mile north of the Elim airport in Elim, Alaska. The aircraft was operating under 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The pilot/owner and one passenger were killed, and the aircraft sustained substantial damage. The cross-country personal flight departed Galena, Alaska, around 1422, with Nome, Alaska, as the planned destination. Instrument meteorological conditions were present, and no flight plan was filed. Personnel in Galena reported that the pilot landed and refueled the aircraft before departure. He reportedly contacted a friend in Nome, stating he expected to arrive between 1600 and 1630. When the pilot became overdue, the friend reported him missing, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an alert notice (ALNOT). The wreckage was discovered around 1920 on June 10. Witnesses in Elim reported seeing and/or hearing the aircraft flying very low over the village, which sits at a lower elevation than the airport. One witness estimated the aircraft was only a few feet above power lines, or approximately 30 feet above ground level. The aircraft flew over the airport and village twice; on the final pass, it was heading east before turning north. Witnesses described the engine sound as steady and noted very foggy conditions with poor visibility. Investigators found no record of the pilot obtaining a weather briefing. ## Pilot Information The pilot was a 69-year-old certificated private pilot with a rating for airplane single-engine land. He held a second-class medical certificate issued on September 6, 2007, with no limitations or waivers. His pilot logbook showed a total flight time of 2,355 hours as of the last entry on May 24, 2009. A notebook found in the wreckage, titled “N303BK Daily Flight Log,” recorded the aircraft’s first flight on September 2, 2008. The first three flights totaled 2.0 hours, with a notation that the tachometer was not working. The log showed continuous flight time for the remaining entries, with the last entry on June 8 for 3 hours, bringing the total to 145 hours. These entries matched the pilot’s flight time logbook. Based on the Daily Flight Log, the pilot had an estimated total time of 2,377 hours, including an estimated 52 hours in the last 90 days and 25 hours in the last 30 days. He had an estimated 149 hours in this aircraft. He also held a repairman experimental aircraft builder inspector certificate limited to this aircraft. ## Aircraft Information The aircraft was an experimental Bruce D. R. Harden RV-7, serial number 72753. Its logbooks indicated a total airframe time of 122 hours at the last maintenance entry on May 27, 2009. The Hobbs hour meter read 147 at the accident site. The engine was a Textron Lycoming IO-320-M1, serial number 1022-SPS. ## Meteorological Information The closest official weather observation station was Unalakleet, Alaska (PAUN), located 58 nautical miles southeast of the accident site at an elevation of 20 feet mean sea level (msl). An aviation routine weather report (METAR) for PAUN issued at 1636 ADT reported winds from 250 degrees at 7 knots, visibility 10 miles, skies 1,800 feet overcast, temperature 8/46 degrees Celsius/Fahrenheit, dew point 6/32 degrees Celsius/Fahrenheit, and altimeter 30.12 inches of mercury. The FAA maintained weather cameras at Elim and Koyuk. The Elim camera recorded images to the east and south approximately every 10 minutes. The midpoint of the field-of-view arc for the east camera was 099 degrees true, and 201 degrees for the south camera; the site elevation was 151 feet msl. Reference pictures indicated a windsock less than 1 statute mile from the south camera and the town and an upper tree line less than 1 statute mile from the east camera. Images recorded around the accident time showed limited visibility in both directions. The south camera had moisture on the lens, and the windsock was not identifiable. On the east-facing image, the town and upper tree line were not identifiable. ## Airport Information According to the Airport/Facility Directory, U.S., Elim’s runway 19 was 3,401 feet long and 60 feet wide, with a gravel surface. ## Wreckage and Impact Information The investigator-in-charge (IIC) examined the wreckage at the scene. The first identified point of contact (FIPC) was a ground scar containing blue paint chips. Approximately 10 feet in the direction of the debris field, green lens fragments were found. The GPS coordinates of the FIPC were 64 degrees 38.226 north latitude, 162 degrees 14.161 minutes west longitude. The debris path began near the peak of a hill that sloped downhill from west to east. The initial path was uphill on a magnetic heading of 360 degrees, then changed to 020 degrees as the path continued downhill around the peak. The main wreckage came to rest inverted. The engine and firewall separated and were found about 30 feet downhill. The GPS coordinates for the engine were 64 degrees 38.292 north latitude, 162 degrees 14.073 minutes west longitude. ## Medical and Pathological Information The Office of the Medical Examiner for the State of Alaska performed an autopsy. The FAA Forensic Toxicology Research Team in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, conducted toxicological testing on specimens from the pilot. Analysis found no carbon monoxide or cyanide in the blood and no ethanol in the urine. The report identified amlodipine in blood and urine, atenolol in blood and urine, and terazosin in blood and urine. ## Tests and Research The IIC examined the engine at the scene and removed all spark plugs. The top plugs were automotive type connected to an electronic ignition system, while the bottom plugs were massive electrode aviation type connected to a magneto. All plugs were clean with no mechanical deformation, and each type’s gaps and shapes were similar. The spark plug electrodes were gray, corresponding to normal operation according to the Champion Aviation Check-A-Plug AV-27 Chart. The IIC removed all rocker box covers except for cylinder number three, where the engine mount was deformed. He manually rotated the crankshaft with the propeller; the crankshaft rotated freely, and the valves moved approximately the same amount of lift in firing order. The gears in the accessory case turned freely, and thumb compression was obtained on all cylinders in firing order. The IIC manually rotated the magneto, installed on the left side of the engine, which produced spark at all posts. The operating levers on the fuel injection unit moved freely from stop to stop. The control rod on the governor fractured and separated at the eyebolt. The fracture surface was angular, and the rod was bent. The operating lever on the governor moved freely from stop to stop. Upon removing the cover of the fuel distribution valve, a fluid that smelled like aviation fuel leaked out. The rubber diaphragm in the valve was unbroken, and the spring functioned without binding. When the fuselage was righted, fluid leaked from the fuel selector valve, which was in the left main position. Moving it to the off position stopped the fluid flow. The left wing contained about 1 inch of fluid. The IIC drained a blue fluid that smelled like aviation fuel from the left wing quick drain. The air filter was not contaminated. The two-blade propeller remained attached. Both blades exhibited leading edge gouges and chordwise striations. Several inches of one tip separated along a jagged angular plane. The other blade’s tip curled 180 degrees. No preimpact mechanical anomalies with the aircraft were discovered during the examination. ## GPS Unit Data Investigators found a GPS unit in the wreckage. The National Transportation Safety Board’s Vehicle Recorders Division downloaded and plotted the data. The GPS recorded two flights on the day of the accident: one from an unnamed grass strip to Galena, and then from Galena to Elim. The data listed direction in degrees true, which the IIC converted to magnetic (variation was 14 degrees east at Elim). It displayed time as universal coordinated time, which the IIC converted to ADT. The track was westbound out of Galena, then turned northwest until reaching a mountain range. It turned southwest and then northwest, intersecting the east side of North Bay; Elim was about 40 miles away on the bay’s west side. The track turned north and followed the bay’s shoreline past Koyuk Airport. Before reaching Elim, the track turned inland in a westbound direction. At a point about 13 miles north-northeast of Elim, it turned southwest to a point about 13 miles west of Elim. This was followed by a 180-degree turn to the northeast along the same path. The track turned 90 degrees to the south, then 45 degrees to the southwest toward Elim along a meandering path. About 1630, the data indicated the aircraft was 3/4 mile west of the accident site at 160 mph on a heading of 193 degrees, descending through 331 feet. About 25 seconds later, the aircraft was near the approach end of runway 19 at 169 feet, heading 160 degrees. The aircraft began climbing as it tracked along the east side of the airport. It began a 360-degree turn and reached a peak altitude of 334 feet at a point over the runway about midfield, heading 309 degrees at 121 mph. It began descending and reached a GPS altitude of 248 feet as it passed the east side of the approach end of runway 19. It was at 136 feet at the east end of town and descended to its lowest altitude of 128 feet as it continued southeast over the water. As the track moved east away from Elim, the altitude began to increase. The track turned north and recorded a peak altitude of 695 feet at the last track point, near the point of impact. The data indicated a speed of 130 miles per hour and an approximate heading of 357 degrees at 16:32:26. ## Additional Information The emergency locator transmitter (ELT) did not function during the accident sequence or when first responders flipped the aircraft back upright. It activated when recovery personnel cut the wire from the remote operating switch. The ELT passed all functional parameters when examined by the manufacturer.