Glaeser NIEUPORT 11 N124TG

Summary

On 18 June 2016 at about 01:40 local time, a Glaeser NIEUPORT 11 registered N124TG was involved in an accident near Gardner, Kansas, 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

18 June 2016 at 01:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Gardner, Kansas, United States

Nearest airport

Gardner Municipal Airport (K34)

Coordinates

38.8067, -94.9567

Aircraft

Glaeser NIEUPORT 11

Registration

N124TG

Category

Airplane

Year built

1985

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Gardner → Gardner

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN16LA230

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's diverted attention during the approach for the precautionary landing, which resulted in low airspeed, an exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack, and a subsequent aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was the control system vibration and the airplane’s lack of a stall warning system.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot stated that a preflight inspection of his experimental, amateur-built airplane revealed no discrepancies. After takeoff, the pilot completed two circuits around the airport traffic pattern with "no problems." During the upwind leg of the third circuit, he "noticed some vibration" and saw that the horizontal stabilizer was shaking/vibrating. The pilot began an approach for a precautionary landing, but during the base-to-final turn of the approach, the airplane experienced an aerodynamic stall. The pilot stated that he did not lose elevator control authority during the last legs of the flight but that he was "distracted" by a fear that parts may be separating from the airplane. The airplane, which was built from plans based upon a 100-year old design, was not equipped with a stall warning system. The pilot further reported that the flight control vibration was likely the result of the control cable that linked the two elevators in a "Y" configuration. He stated that the single control cable was not supported for "a number of feet" through guides/fairleads, which can make the elevators "flutter."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.