History of Flight
On April 23, 2017, about 0912 Pacific daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Nieuport 28 biplane, registration N6190, sustained substantial damage when it impacted terrain about 4 miles east of Paso Robles Municipal Airport (PRB), Paso Robles, California. The airline transport pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was registered to C C Air Corporation and operated by the pilot under 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The local personal flight had departed from Bonel Airport (95CA), Whitney Garden, California, about 0907.
A witness located about 1 mile south of 95CA heard the airplane take off, observed it turn left to the cross-wind leg of the traffic pattern, and then turn left again to the downwind leg. Another witness about 1/2 mile west of the accident site reported observing the airplane in a steep nose-down attitude just before impact.
Personnel Information
The pilot, age 54, held an airline transport pilot certificate with ratings for airplane multi-engine land, single-engine land, single-engine sea, and glider. He also held a flight instructor certificate with airplane single-engine, multi-engine, and instrument ratings. His most recent third-class FAA medical certificate was issued on May 20, 2014, with the limitation to have available glasses for near vision. He reported on the application 7,170 total flight hours, with 100 hours in the previous 6 months. The pilot's logbooks were not located.
Aircraft Information
The single-seat, fixed-gear biplane was a World War I fighter replica, built in 1976 and acquired by the pilot in 1993. It was powered by a 160-horsepower reciprocating rotary Gnome 9-N engine equipped with a fixed-pitch Falcon Manufacturing model 160-Gnome propeller.
Review of the airframe logbook revealed all maintenance and inspections were accomplished by the same mechanic since acquisition. An entry on March 30, 1994, at 318 hours airframe time, indicated the airframe was stripped, inspected, cleaned, painted, and a 160 hp Gnome engine installed. On November 8, 1995, the airplane was disassembled for shipment, and reassembled on November 29, 1995, then inspected and certified for flight. On March 23, 2016, at 345.9 hours, the fabric covering was replaced and the airplane painted. The most recent condition inspection was on April 5, 2017, at 348.9 hours. The logbook showed 5 flights in 2016 totaling 3 hours; no flights in 2017. No elevator or elevator control cable maintenance was documented.
Meteorological Information
At 0853, recorded weather at PRB: wind from 320° at 9 knots, visibility 10 miles, sky clear, temperature 13°C, dew point 8°C, altimeter 29.99 inHg.
Wreckage and Impact Information
Examination by the NTSB and an FAA inspector revealed the airplane impacted ground in a flat wheat field at about 1,055 ft msl. All major components were at the site. The first point of contact was a disturbed dirt area about 2 ft long, 3 ft wide, and 12 inches deep, with the embedded propeller. Debris was within about 10 ft. The airplane's bank and pitch angles at impact were estimated about 30° left-wing-down and 80° nose-down.
The fuselage came to rest inverted on a heading of about 145° magnetic, displaced left and folded over the upper left wing, which was embedded. Fuel was leaking near the center.
The upper and lower left wings were partially attached, nearly parallel to the fuselage, with leading-edge compression damage. The left aileron was attached, damaged outboard third. The left main wheel and attachments separated; a 4-inch section of the wheel crushed inward.
Upper and lower right wings remained partially attached, with mid-span damage and leading-edge compression. Right aileron attached; right main wheel relatively intact.
The cockpit area sustained severe impact damage. Several flight instruments separated; the tachometer indicated about 2,040 rpm, airspeed indicator about 87 mph. The empennage and fuselage aft of the cockpit were relatively intact; rudder and elevators remained attached.
Flight control continuity was established to ailerons and rudder. The elevator control cable for trailing-edge down movement was intact; the cable for trailing-edge up movement was disconnected at its turnbuckle connection located within the belly. No evidence of safety wire or safety clips on either end of the turnbuckle assembly. The turnbuckle end where the rod end should have been connected was undamaged; threads on the rod end and within the barrel were undamaged. All other turnbuckles throughout the flight control system were safety wired.
The engine was embedded in the ground at the impact angle. Both magnetos remained attached; several accessories were separated. Both wood propeller blades were buried; one blade separated near the hub, the other separated and splintered mid-span. Examination revealed no mechanical malfunction precluding normal operation.
Additional Information
According to FAA regulations, experimental airplanes require a conditional inspection every 12 months by an airframe and powerplant mechanic per 14 CFR Part 43, Appendix D, which includes inspecting all systems for improper installation, defects, and unsatisfactory operation. Flight and engine controls must be inspected for improper installation and operation.
The mechanic who performed maintenance stated that flight control cables and turnbuckle assemblies in the interior fuselage (including the disconnected elevator cable) were not accessible during routine or condition inspections. A window in the empennage allowed inspection of elevator control attachments only in the tail; rudder control attachments could be inspected externally. Even with the fabric skin removed, the cables and turnbuckle assemblies in the belly were not readily accessible due to plywood paneling and wood stringers.
FAA Advisory Circular 43.13B, Chapter 10, Paragraph 7-179 states: "safety all turnbuckles with safety wire using either the double or single wrap, or with any appropriately approved special safetying device complying with the requirements of FAA Technical Standard Order TSO-C21."
Medical and Pathological Information
The San Luis Obispo County Coroner's Office conducted an autopsy; cause of death was blunt force trauma. The FAA's Bioaeronautical Sciences Research Laboratory performed toxicological testing, which was negative for carbon monoxide, cyanide, volatiles, and all tested for drugs.