Wallace SKYBOLT N41BB

Summary

On 17 March 2004 at about 15:20 local time, a Wallace SKYBOLT registered N41BB was involved in an accident near Reno, Nevada, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

17 March 2004 at 15:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Reno, Nevada, United States

Nearest airport

Reno/Stead (4SD)

Coordinates

39.6928, -119.9619

Aircraft

Wallace SKYBOLT

Registration

N41BB

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Reno → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX04LA163

1 person was seriously injured.

Failure of the left wing spar during an aerobatic maneuver.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The aircraft broke up in flight while the pilot was executing an aerobatic outside loop maneuver. While inverted and pushing forward on the stick to about -2.5G to start the ascending part of the maneuver, the airplane began to vibrate violently. The pilot felt the vibration in the airframe, not in the stick or the rudder. He felt the vibration for 1 to 2 seconds, followed by the left wing of the airplane detaching from the airplane's structure. During the airplane's continued disintegration, the pilot was able to release his seat belt and exit the airplane. The pilot deployed his parachute, which opened just prior to his reaching the ground. The aircraft was destroyed by a post impact ground fire. The airplane was constructed out of wood in 1975 and, according to the accident airplane's records and the pilot's statement, it had been more than 20 years since the wings had undergone any extensive inspection, repair, or rebuild with the fabric removed.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.