Hartline J Bon HARTLINE KITFOX III N73BH

Summary

On 2 May 2018 at about 16:00 local time, a Hartline J Bon HARTLINE KITFOX III registered N73BH was involved in an accident near Marathon, Texas, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 May 2018 at 16:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Marathon, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Stovall Ranch Airport (6TX9)

Coordinates

33.2296, -97.5900

Aircraft

Hartline J Bon HARTLINE KITFOX III

Registration

N73BH

Category

Airplane

Year built

1991

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Marathon → Marathon

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN18LA157

2 people had minor injuries.

The failure of the flaperon hinge attachment point during takeoff, which resulted in a loss of airplane control. Contributing to the accident was the lack of reinforcement of the hinge attachment point in accordance with the manufacturer’s service bulletin.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot and the passenger were departing on a local personal flight in the experimental amateur-built airplane. The pilot indicated that, during the takeoff climb, about 15 ft above the ground, the airplane violently rolled to the right. He applied full aileron and rudder opposite the direction of the roll, but the airplane continued to roll to the right, struck the ground with the right wing, and then impacted a tree. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that three of the four hinges connecting the right flaperon hanger rib were loose. The wooden material of the flaperon was found dry rotted where the hinges connected. The airplane had been flown about 3 hours in the 11 months before the accident. The airplane kit manufacturer had issued a service bulletin in 1991 that identified flaperon hanger rib failures on the model of the accident airplane. The service bulletin recommended the addition of an aluminum reinforcement on each flaperon hanger rib end. The accident airplane did not have the reinforcement installed and thus did not have the benefit of additional reinforcement in the attachment point area of the hinges.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.