Cobalt CO50 VALKYRIE N523CA

Summary

On 5 September 2017 at about 21:30 local time, a Cobalt CO50 VALKYRIE registered N523CA, operated by Cobalt Aircraft Industries Inc, was involved in an accident near Atwater, 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

5 September 2017 at 21:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Atwater, California, United States

Nearest airport

Castle (MER)

Coordinates

37.3758, -120.5731

Aircraft

Cobalt CO50 VALKYRIE

Registration

N523CA

Category

Airplane

Year built

2016

Engines

1

Operator

Cobalt Aircraft Industries Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Flight Test

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Atwater → Atwater

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR17LA201

Nobody was injured.

A loss of aileron effectiveness due to the airplane's design configuration, which resulted in the pilot's inability to control the roll axis and led to a hard landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that the purpose of the flight was to evaluate handling qualities of the experimental airplane at various configurations specified in the test card. After rotation, with the airplane about 50 ft above ground level (agl), the pilot experienced a loss of aileron control. As the airspeed increased, he began to attain some controllability and climbed to about 1,400 ft agl. After about 20 minutes of manipulating the flight controls and practicing climbing and descending using the trim, he stabilized the airplane around 90 kts. He thought that he would be able to land the airplane at an increased airspeed using steady thrust control and the rudder for directional control. During landing, with the airplane about 10 ft above the runway surface, the airplane experienced a loss of lift and landed hard, which resulted in damage to the right wing spar. For the test flight, the airplane manufacturer had changed the winglet position, which contributed to a loss of aileron effectiveness.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.