Staudaucher S300D N540DH

Summary

On 31 May 1997 at about 14:15 local time, a Staudaucher S300D registered N540DH was involved in an accident near Chandler, Arizona, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

31 May 1997 at 14:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Chandler, Arizona, United States

Coordinates

33.3209, -111.8204

Aircraft

Staudaucher S300D

Registration

N540DH

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX97LA221

Nobody was injured.

The owner/pilot's decision to use automotive hardware, which had not been heat treated, and the practice of adding aluminum plates to the trailing edge of the aileron without rebalancing the flight controls, which resulted in the separation of the aileron at the attachment fitting.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

During practice aerobic maneuvers, the pilot heard a loud bang and noticed that the right aileron had departed the aircraft. The pilot stated that the separation occurred during a 9-G pull from horizontal to a 45-degree nose high angle. A postaccident examination of the aircraft and aileron revealed that the aileron attach points were fabricated with automotive hardware welded to plates which had received no heat treatment. Shim plates were found under the attach brackets. Additionally, the aileron had been modified with an addition of aluminum plates to the trailing edge of the aileron without rebalancing the flight controls. The kit manufacturer said the pilot had found the two nuts which hold the aileron hinge to the aileron loose on several previous occasions. The examination revealed that there were signs of slippage and wear at the right center attach point where the shim plates were inserted.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.