Flight History
On August 28, 2015, at 1407 eastern daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Giles G-202, registration N18FJ, was destroyed after colliding with terrain following an in-flight separation of the tail section. The accident occurred during a practice aerobatic demonstration flight at Stewart International Airport (SWF), Newburgh, New York. The commercial pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan was filed. The flight was intended to practice an air show routine scheduled for the following day.
Witness statements and video recordings indicated that the airplane had performed four or five maneuvers over approximately five minutes when the tail suddenly separated. At that moment, the airplane was executing a left aileron roll while climbing at about a 45-degree angle. Photographs and video showed the fuselage twisting to the left relative to the tail before complete separation. The elevator and rudder appeared near neutral. No abrupt control inputs or pre-separation part failures were observed. The airplane impacted a grass field about 1,100 feet south of the runway centerline with the engine running continuously. The tail section was found about 1,800 feet north of the main wreckage.
Aircraft and Pilot Information
The pilot, age 53, held a commercial pilot certificate with single-engine land and instrument ratings and a Statement of Acrobatic Competency issued March 17, 2014, with solo aerobatics and unlimited altitude limitations. His second-class medical certificate, issued May 19, 2015, required corrective lenses. Logbook records showed 3,215 total flight hours, with about 1,000 hours in the accident make and model.
The two-seat, low-wing, experimental amateur-built airplane was manufactured in 1998. It was powered by a Ly-Con AEIO-360-EXP 238-horsepower four-cylinder engine driving a two-blade constant-speed propeller. The airframe was constructed primarily of glass-fiber-reinforced epoxy, carbon-fiber-reinforced epoxy, and honeycomb sandwich panels with a monocoque fuselage. The most recent condition inspection was on March 25, 2015, at 400 total hours. The airplane had accumulated about 48 hours since that inspection.
Wreckage and Structural Examination
The fuselage came to rest on its left side, heavily fragmented. Both wings separated, with heavy leading-edge fragmentation. Flight control continuity was confirmed through overload fractures. The engine was partially embedded, and both propeller blades were separated near the hub. The tail debris field included the vertical stabilizer, horizontal stabilizer, and elevator, which remained relatively intact. The rudder and hinges were separated about 600 feet east of the stabilizers.
Examination of the airframe revealed that the horizontal and vertical stabilizers had fractured at several bonded joints. Fractures occurred along the L-shaped flanges attaching the lower horizontal stabilizer skin to the vertical stabilizer and fuselage skin, at the bond between the banjo bulkhead and lower horizontal stabilizer skin, through the fuselage skin, and through the vertical spar. The bonds on both L flanges (constructed of glass-fiber-reinforced cloth and epoxy) were fractured from their mating surfaces in multiple locations. The banjo bulkhead bond was completely fractured. Most fracture surfaces showed fiber pullout and resin transfer, but two areas on the left flange near the leading edge showed limited transfer. A fracture study determined that the initial failure was a tensile opening bond fracture in the left flange at the bottom of the horizontal stabilizer near its leading edge. No clear evidence of progressive crack growth was found. A finite element model identified concentrated local stresses in the fuselage and vertical stabilizer skin near the horizontal stabilizer leading edge cutout, with stress increasing as bond strength in the L flange was reduced. The model also indicated that stress was not significantly affected by the banjo bulkhead bond strength.
L flanges on the accident airplane were constructed of three layers of fiberglass cloth. The designer specified a four-layer wet layup installation; earlier kits used two two-layer flanges. Build instructions for the left vertical stabilizer skin mentioned preparing four cloth strips but did not specify applying all to the left side, though a note referred to a "4 ply lay-up." Instructions for the right side did not include flange steps. A reddish-brown residue on the right horizontal stabilizer tested negative for bird remains.
Maintenance records showed one structural repair entry on January 15, 2011: "Repaired cracked rudder mount bulkhead."
Similar Accidents and Fleet Information
A similar accident occurred on July 21, 2001, when another Giles G-202 (F-PQUX) experienced in-flight tail separation after aerobatic maneuvers. The French investigation found bond fractures in the L flanges at the horizontal-vertical stabilizer and fuselage skin joints, with most areas lacking fiber pullout or resin transfer.
According to the airplane designer, the fleet consists of about 80 kits, including 27 earlier G-200 models with the same tail design. After the accident, one maintenance facility inspected six G-202s; two lacked L flanges and instead used epoxy adhesive. The designer noted other deviations from build instructions, including material substitutions and assembly inconsistencies. The kit supplier was sold to MX Aircraft, but fleet similarities were not examined.
Operational Details
The pilot purchased the airplane in December 2008 at 73 hours. By the last logbook entry (four days before the accident), it had flown 376 hours. The pilot frequently participated in aerobatic competitions. In the weeks prior, he practiced air show routines and prepared for a world record inverted flat spin attempt. A social media post on August 15, 2015, showed a g-meter reading maximum loads of -4.5 and +9 g. The accident site g-meter indicated -4.75 and just under +8 g.
Video review showed that at the time of tail separation, the airplane was climbing and beginning a left aileron roll at about 90 degrees left-wing-down. The tail twisted clockwise relative to the fuselage. The roll rate was approximately 320 degrees per second. The preceding maneuver (a wings-level descent followed by a pull-up) involved a groundspeed of about 211 knots and a vertical load factor of about +7.5 g (±1.5 g). The airplane's designed operational load limits were ±10 g at 1,400 pounds. Video from a 2014 airshow showed a similar sequence with peak load factors around +9 g and aileron rolls starting near 170 knots, during which the g-meter indicated about -2 g. On-board video from the accident flight showed a double snap roll shortly after takeoff with an estimated groundspeed of 130 knots; the designer estimated possible higher speeds based on flight tests. No maximum snap roll entry speed was established for the G-202.
Toxicology
Autopsy determined the cause of death as blunt impacts to the head, torso, and extremities. Toxicological testing was negative for ethanol and drugs of abuse. Zolpidem, a prescription insomnia medication, was detected in liver and cavity blood. The FAA recommends waiting at least 24 hours after use before flying due to potential impairment.
The pilot wore a parachute; the on-board video showed no attempt to open the canopy after the tail separated. The seatbelt buckle was found fastened.