Jacquneaux Glen R CGS HAWK N5148G

Summary

On 15 September 2022 at about 20:42 local time, a Jacquneaux Glen R CGS HAWK registered N5148G was involved in an accident near Lander, Wyoming, 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

15 September 2022 at 20:42

Classification

Accident

Location

Lander, Wyoming, United States

Coordinates

42.5524, -108.1397

Aircraft

Jacquneaux Glen R CGS HAWK

Registration

N5148G

Category

Airplane

Year built

2003

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lander → Kimball

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR22LA352

Nobody was injured.

A reported severe airframe vibration and subsequent forced landing for reasons that could not be determined because the wreckage was not made available for examination.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, about 40 minutes after departure at an altitude of about 9,500 ft mean sea level (msl), he decided to land off-airport due to severe up and down shaking of the experimental airplane’s empennage. The pilot reduced the throttle setting and initiated a glide. The pilot observed that the airplane remained stable during the glide, with no extreme vibration, and that he was able to manage the descent smoothly. Shortly after touchdown, the airplane bounced and landed hard on a field. Subsequently, the airplane nosed over and sustained substantial damage to the tail assembly.  The wreckage was recovered from a field onto a flatbed truck by a local resident. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) interviewed the pilot after the accident and requested that he preserve the wreckage; however, the pilot had given the wreckage to the local resident who helped with the recovery. The pilot added that he was returning to his home country in two weeks when his visa expired. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector took pictures of the airplane on top of the flatbed truck but was unable to conduct an examination of the airframe or engine. The pilot further reported during a follow-up interview that he believed the engine and frame installed were too heavy for the airframe, which resulted in the extreme airframe vibration. He added that the engine was from a pre-owned car and had been installed about 7 years before the accident. The pilot indicated that the violent shaking during the accident sequence was the first occurrence in the airplane's last 204 hours of flight, which spanned the last 90 days. The local resident reported that during the recovery process, the pilot admitted to using zip ties to keep sections of the airplane intact. The pilot was not responsive after several attempts to coordinate a follow-up examination. Moreover, despite several attempts, the local resident did not respond to the investigator’s request to examine the wreckage. Since the wreckage was not made available for examination, the reason for the reported airframe vibration could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.