Mx Aircraft Tech MXS N530RH

Summary

On 24 April 2025 at about 15:35 local time, a Mx Aircraft Tech MXS registered N530RH was involved in an accident near Hampton, Virginia, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

24 April 2025 at 15:35

Classification

Accident

Location

Hampton, Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Langley Afb (LFI)

Coordinates

37.0788, -76.3745

Aircraft

Mx Aircraft Tech MXS

Registration

N530RH

Category

Airplane

Year built

2019

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Smyrna → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA25FA185

1 person died.

A counterweight plug that loosened during the accident flight, jammed the elevator, and resulted in loss of control during landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of the aerobatic airplane was on approach to a runway at the destination airport at the conclusion of a cross-country flight. According to a witness, and electronic data recovered from avionics onboard the airplane, the airplane leveled off about 50 ft above the runway and flew straight down the runway for several hundred feet. The airplane then pitched up and then down before it pitched up to a nose high pitch attitude and climbed several hundred feet. The airplane then rolled 90° to the left, pulled over the top of a loop, and descended before impacting the ground. Postaccident examination of the airplane at the accident site revealed that that a counterweight plug that normally would have been installed in the left elevator was not present and was found on the ground about 10 ft behind the wreckage. The counterweight plug for the right elevator was found installed and tight. The left elevator counterweight plug threads were intact, about half of the circumference of the counterweight plug displayed gouging, and an area showed evidence of paint transfer. The horizontal stabilizer structure adjacent to the left elevator position where the counterweight plug would have been installed displayed dents and paint scrapes consistent with contact with the counterweight plug. A washer beneath a screw secured to the horizonal stabilizer structure (near where the paint scrapes were observed) was also dented. Metallurgical examination revealed that both the washer and screw had thickness profiles that matched the marks in the outer diameter edge on the counterweight plug and that the marks were consistent with the washer having made repeated contact with plug. The elevator counterweight plugs were part of a custom feature that the pilot requested the airframe manufacturer incorporate into the elevator during its construction. The airframe manufacturer described the plugs as a short-term solution and they did not provide any instructions for continuing airworthiness, to include torque values to be used when installing the plugs. The manufacturer also stated the plug design incorporated an o-ring that would serve as a secondary locking mechanism. No o-ring was found on the recovered plug at the accident site, nor was one found on the still-installed right elevator’s counterweight plug. Additionally, the plugs found installed on the accident airplane differed dimensionally from those specified in a design document provided by the airframe manufacturer. Based on the available information, it is likely that the left elevator counterweight plug loosened during the flight until it made contact with the washer and screw in the horizontal stabilizer, sufficient to jam the elevator. This ultimately resulted in the pilot being unable control the airplane during the landing, and the subsequent impact with terrain.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.