Hawker Siddeley HUNTER MK.58 N338AX

Summary

On 22 August 2017 at about 23:18 local time, a Hawker Siddeley HUNTER MK.58 registered N338AX, operated by Airborne Tactical Advantage, was involved in an accident near Pacific Ocean, United States. One person was on board and 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

22 August 2017 at 23:18

Classification

Accident

Location

Pacific Ocean, United States

Coordinates

31.6553, -118.3231

Aircraft

Hawker Siddeley HUNTER MK.58

Registration

N338AX

Category

Airplane

Year built

1959

Engines

1

Operator

Airborne Tactical Advantage

Operating rule

Public Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Oxnard → Oxnard

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR17LA186

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot’s loss of airplane control after flying through another airplane's jet wash during an air defense exercise.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The civilian airline transport pilot was conducting a cross-country flight with another airplane to participate in a military air defense training exercise. The accident pilot reported that, while flying about 14,000 ft mean sea level (msl), one of the military airplanes started flying alongside his airplane's right wing and then accelerated ahead of his airplane and crossed in front of its flightpath. The military pilot stated that he tried to get the accident pilot's attention so that he could make him aware of his position but that he was unsuccessful. The accident pilot reported that he attempted to follow the military airplane but that it then turned right and passed in front of his flightpath again. The accident pilot added that, as he turned right to follow the military airplane, he heard a "thump," which he attributed to jet wash. His airplane then immediately rolled left. He attempted to counter the left roll by applying right aileron, but the airplane then entered a nose-down attitude and began to spin. The pilot attempted to recover control without success, and he subsequently ejected from the airplane while it was passing through 4,000 ft msl. The airplane subsequently descended into the ocean. The airplane could not be examined after the accident because the wreckage was not recovered from the ocean. The pilot reported seeing that the magnetic indicators displayed black, which suggests that aileron hydraulic power was being supplied to the ailerons at the time of the loss of control. Given the evidence, it is likely that, after the accident airplane flew through the military airplane's jet wash, aileron movement was inhibited for reasons that could not be determined, which resulted in the pilot's loss of airplane control.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.