Stiritz EIPPER MX II N15TJ

Summary

On 30 June 1997 at about 02:15 local time, a Stiritz EIPPER MX II registered N15TJ was involved in an accident near Newport, Washington, United States. 2 people were 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

30 June 1997 at 02:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Newport, Washington, United States

Coordinates

48.1505, -117.2399

Aircraft

Stiritz EIPPER MX II

Registration

N15TJ

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Deer Park → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA97LA156

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the owner/builder to adequately inspect his homebuilt aircraft, which subsequently led to the failure of the right wing lift cable attach bolt and resulted in the collapse of the right wing during flight.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was flying his friends and family on numerous flights in his homebuilt airplane on the day of the accident. During the final flight, the pilot and and a passenger climbed to 3,000 feet above ground level (agl) and began an intentional spiraling descent. During the descent, and about 1,500 feet agl, the right wing collapsed at a point located about 5 feet outboard from the cabin area. The airplane began an uncontrolled descent and the pilot deployed his ballistic parachute system. The airplane settled onto trees and both occupants were uninjured. The pilot reported that the bolt holding the right lower trailing edge wing lift cable had failed, and that the bolt was not AN hardware like the bolts that held the other lift and drag cables. An examination of the maintenance records revealed that the airplane had been built and maintained by the pilot. About one year prior to the accident, the pilot logged that he had performed a condition inspection, and that the airplane was safe for flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.