Avions Robin R.2160 N216RN

Summary

On 31 August 2005 at about 19:50 local time, a Avions Robin R.2160 registered N216RN, operated by California Flight Center, was involved in an accident near Avalon, California, United States. 2 people were on board and one died, one had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

31 August 2005 at 19:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Avalon, California, United States

Coordinates

33.4883, -118.4519

Aircraft

Avions Robin R.2160

Registration

N216RN

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

California Flight Center

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Long Beach → Catalina

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX05LA283

1 person died.

The flight instructor's unsuccessful recovery from a spin. The underlying reason was not determined.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane impacted the water following an intentional spin, that was not recovered from. According to the surviving student pilot, the instructor was demonstrating a hammerhead maneuver followed by what the student believed was a loop and then a spin. The airplane began "violently spinning towards the water." The student believed he counted 7 or 8 spins to the right, but wasn't positive about the direction. He realized they were spinning too much and were rapidly losing altitude. The instructor told the student to remove his feet from the rudder pedals, and the student complied. The instructor continued with his attempt to stop the spin, to no avail. The instructor then called for a bailout and jettisoned the canopy. The student managed to successfully bailout of the airplane and felt the vertical stabilizer rush past him. He observed the airplane impact the water below him and noticed the instructor's parachute deployed and in the water. The instructor was fatally injured and had a "deep laceration of the right upper chest extending to the right shoulder". Post-accident examination of the instructor's parachute revealed no anomalies that would have prevented its full deployment. Considering the facts that the student successfully bailed out of the airplane before the instructor did, that the instructor's parachute had been deployed and was in the water before the student reached the water, and the instructor's injuries, it is likely that the instructor struck and became ensnared on a portion of the airplane during the bailout. The wreckage was not recovered, therefore, the reason for the instructor's inability to recover from the spin could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.