Hilyard DRAGONFLY N22EX

Summary

On 31 May 2000 at about 19:32 local time, a Hilyard DRAGONFLY registered N22EX was involved in an accident near Lancaster, California, 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 2000 at 19:32

Classification

Accident

Location

Lancaster, California, United States

Nearest airport

General Wm J Fox Airfield (WJF)

Coordinates

34.7207, -118.1492

Aircraft

Hilyard DRAGONFLY

Registration

N22EX

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

LAX00LA210

Nobody was injured.

the pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed while attempting to land in gusty wind conditions leading to an inadvertent stall/mush, which resulted in a porpoise and subsequent loss of directional control.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During a series of high-speed runway taxi tests, a gust of wind caused the airplane to become airborne and veer to the right of centerline. Due to the insufficient remaining runway, the pilot added full power and continued the initial climb out within the traffic pattern. On the landing flare, a gust of wind raised the nose of the airplane reducing the airspeed, and the canard pitch authority became inadequate. The airplane struck the runway with the canard tip mounted wheels, porpoised three times, then departed the runway and came to rest nose down. Recorded winds were from 240 degrees at 12 knots gusting to 14 knots.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.