History of Flight
On June 30, 2013, at about 1605 eastern daylight time, a Nanchang China CJ-6A airplane, N116RL, was destroyed during a collision with water following a spiraling descent, just offshore from Ocean City, Maryland. The certificated private pilot/owner and one passenger were fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight operated under Part 91. The local flight departed Ocean City Municipal Airport (OXB) at 1532.
The pilot and passenger were friends and fellow officers with the Ocean City Police Department. The purpose of the flight was a local pleasure/orientation flight for the passenger.
Several witnesses provided statements. Most described the airplane as descending in a steady-state, nose-down spin to water contact. Some described a "flat spin" and the landing as "flat… a belly flop."
One witness, familiar with the accident airplane, reported hearing its engine about 15 minutes prior. He observed one loop and one barrel roll, described as "slow" and "lazy." The airplane then flew out of sight. Later, he noticed it in a spiraling descent. He heard no engine sound and stated that nothing departed the airplane during the descent, and the canopy remained attached. The airplane had a shallow, nose-down, spiraling attitude, nearly flat, and "pancaked" into the water with a slapping sound.
Personnel Information
The pilot held a private pilot certificate with a single-engine land rating. His most recent third-class medical certificate was issued November 12, 2009. Examination of his flight records revealed gaps and overlaps; total flight experience could not be reconciled. He first logged flights as a student pilot in 1996 and received his private pilot certificate on October 5, 2007. His logged total was 859 hours, with 231 hours in the accident airplane make and model. Logbook entries included remarks such as "practicing rolls," "roll," and "flat spin," but no aerobatic instruction was noted. Three pilots provided familiarization training in the accident airplane, but none provided aerobatic training.
Aircraft Information
The airplane was manufactured in 1980 and registered in the experimental exhibition category. It was a two-place, tandem-seating basic military trainer. Its most recent annual inspection was completed on April 2, 2013, at 3,485.3 total aircraft hours.
Meteorological Information
At 1621, the weather reported at OXB included few clouds at 600 feet, and winds from 200 degrees at 7 knots gusting to 17 knots.
Wreckage and Impact Information
Video footage and still photography showed the airplane appeared intact until water contact. Sonar mapping and salvage divers revealed the entire airplane rested together on the ocean floor but was fractured in several places due to impact. The majority was recovered on July 4, 2013, except the left wing and vertical stabilizer. The engine remained attached to the firewall, with two upper engine mounts fractured. The underside of the fuselage showed hydraulic deformation, and the fuselage was fractured between cockpit stations. Control continuity was established. Examination revealed no evidence of pre-impact mechanical anomalies.
Medical and Pathological Information
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, State of Maryland, performed an autopsy on the pilot. The autopsy report indicated death due to multiple injuries. Toxicological testing was negative for drugs, alcohol, and carbon monoxide.
Tests and Research
Two GoPro video recorders and a Garmin Aera GPS receiver were examined. The GPS receiver was damaged and no track data was recorded on the accident day. Video from one camera captured the entire accident flight from taxi through the start of the spin sequence; the second captured from just before the spin through water impact. The first camera was mounted on the aft glareshield facing aft; the second was hand-held by the passenger. The videos showed the airplane climb to about 5,000 feet and perform barrel rolls, banks of 60 degrees, and pitch angles of 80 degrees or more. Beginning about 1604:00, the airplane pitched up through 70 degrees, rolled inverted, and entered a steady-state, nose-down spin. The airplane stabilized at a 30-degree nose-down attitude, wings level, with a 600 feet-per-minute rate of descent. The pilot's head was upright, the control stick fully aft, and the pedals generally neutral. The airplane maintained this attitude through 22 complete revolutions before water contact at 1605:00. The pilot never released aft pressure on the control stick, and no remedial action was observed. The propeller was rotating and engine sound was smooth and continuous to impact.