Murray STARLITE N4326D

Summary

On 21 April 2010 at about 17:30 local time, a Murray STARLITE registered N4326D, operated by Denis Boissonneault, was involved in an accident near Shelbyville, Illinois, 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

21 April 2010 at 17:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Shelbyville, Illinois, United States

Nearest airport

Shelby County Airport (2H0)

Coordinates

39.4103, -88.8453

Aircraft

Murray STARLITE

Registration

N4326D

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Denis Boissonneault

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Marion → Shelbyville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN10CA215

Nobody was injured.

The corrosion of the left landing gear rotor and brake, which resulted in the loss of directional control during the landing rollout, and the pilot's inadequate preflight inspection.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that when the experimental, amateur-built airplane touched down for landing, the left main tire “locked up” and the airplane veered to the left. The pilot applied full right rudder and aileron, but the airplane continued to veer off the left side of the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage when it entered a plowed field, which caused the main landing gear to collapse and the left main tire to go through the left wing. Postaccident inspection of the airplane revealed that left main landing gear rotor and brake exhibited rust with “pitting” and “scarring.” The left tire had a bald spot which was consistent with it being “locked up” and skidding. The aircraft logbook indicated that the airplane’s last conditional inspection was conducted on March 24, 2009, which was about 13 months prior to the accident. The accident flight was the first flight since the airplane had been stored for the winter in August 2009. The pilot reported that he “could have removed the wheels and checked them thoroughly” since the airplane had been in a "barn/hangar" over the winter.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.