History of the Flight
On July 29, 2013, about 1320 eastern daylight time, a Folland GNAT T 1, registration N18GT, collided with terrain during an uncontrolled descent near Georgetown County Airport (GGE), Georgetown, South Carolina. The pilot was fatally injured, and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane was registered to Foogair Inc and operated by the airline transport pilot as a personal flight under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the flight, which departed Yeager Airport (CRW), Charleston, West Virginia, destined for GGE.
According to witnesses, the pilot radioed the airport on approach, and they went outside to observe the landing. The pilot crossed over the midfield and entered a right downwind for runway 23. The airplane made a high-speed flyby over the runway between 100 and 200 feet above ground level. At the end of the runway, the airplane pitched up approximately 30 degrees and began an aileron roll to the left. Witnesses reported that the first 180 degrees of the aileron roll appeared "perfect," but when the airplane reached about the 190-degree point, it abruptly pitched down and to the right and collided with the ground. An explosion was heard, followed by a plume of smoke. There were no distress calls heard over the radio prior to the accident.
Personnel Information
The pilot, age 79, held an airline transport pilot certificate for airplane multi-engine land and a third-class airman medical certificate with limitations for corrective lenses. The pilot reported a total flight experience of 4,506 hours, with 52 hours in the last 6 months, as of his last medical examination on March 28, 2012. The pilot's logbook was not recovered for examination.
Aircraft Information
The single-seat, low-wing, retractable-gear airplane, serial number XS105, was manufactured in 1963. It was powered by a Rolls-Royce Orpheous turbojet engine producing 4,705 pounds of thrust. Maintenance logbooks were not available for review.
Meteorological Information
The reported weather at GGE at 1335 was: winds calm, visibility 10 miles, scattered clouds at 3,400 and 7,500 feet, temperature 31 degrees Celsius, dew point 24 degrees Celsius, and altimeter 30.10 inches of mercury.
Wreckage and Impact
The wreckage was located in a heavily wooded area 1 mile southwest from GGE. Examination occurred on July 30 and 31, 2013. All major components of the airplane were accounted for at the accident site. A debris path revealed freshly broken tree branches at an approximate 45-degree angle, extending on a 309-degree magnetic heading. Various pieces of the airplane were located within the path. The engine, fuselage, and sections of the wings and cockpit were at the end of the debris path and had been consumed by a postcrash fire. Flight control continuity to the flight controls was not confirmed due to fragmentation of the flight controls hydraulic system.
The fuselage and cockpit were fragmented and consumed by fire. Flight control instruments were located throughout the accident site, all impact-damaged with readings deemed unreliable. The left and right wings were impact- and fire-damaged; ailerons were found in fragments. Hydraulic lines within the wing assemblies were melted. Aileron control actuators were impact- and fire-damaged. Left and right flaps were fragmented and fire-damaged. The main landing gear was fire- and impact-damaged. The forward section of the empennage was consumed by fire. The tailplane, elevator, and rudder remained attached to fragments of the remaining empennage. The tailplane and elevator were partially connected to the power flight control Hobson unit and were impact-damaged. All hydraulic lines and electrical wiring leading to the Hobson unit were broken and fragmented.
The engine was impact- and fire-damaged, with signs of power in the compressor section. Various impact cracks were noted along the flattened engine casing. Rotational scarring was present on the turbine blades along the inner engine case. Dirt and debris were found in the inlet section and throughout the engine compressor section to the exhaust outlet.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy performed on July 30, 2013, noted the cause of death as blunt force trauma. Toxicological testing detected Metoprolol in muscle and liver.
Additional Findings
Title 14 CFR 91.303 defines "aerobatic flight" as an intentional maneuver involving an abrupt change in attitude, abnormal attitude, or abnormal acceleration not necessary for normal flight, and prohibits such flight below 1,500 feet above the surface.
A review of the pilot's notes described the flight control system: the tailplane and elevators are normally locked together and move as a unit under hydraulic power in response to control stick movement. The elevators may be unlocked from the tailplane in flight, allowing manually controlled elevators and a powered tailplane. Full manual operation may be selected for practice or emergencies, where the elevators are manually controlled but the tailplane angle can be altered only by the standby trimming system—an electric motor on the Hobson unit.
During examination, two primary flight control components were recovered: the Hobson unit (tailplane actuator, hydraulic and electrical) and the control stick. The Hobson unit was impact-damaged; hydraulic inputs were severed, and the electrical motor was damaged such that an operational check could not be performed. The control stick was impact-damaged, but internal switches remained intact. Two switches on the hand grip must synchronize to electrically operate the tailplane in hydraulic failure. The 'nose down' side of the right switch was inoperative; all other contact points made a click noise when actuated. An additional tailplane control on the cockpit left side panel—independent of the hand grip switches—was not located due to cockpit panel destruction. The control stick actuation and movement showed full aileron and rudder control available.