Loss of Control in Flight · NTSB ERA20FA086
MUSTANG II — Senoia, GA
| Date | January 25, 2020 |
| Location | Senoia, GA |
| Aircraft | MUSTANG II (amateur-built) |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Uncontrolled descent Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) |
| Pilot age | 43 |
| Pilot total time | 11,000 hrs · High time |
| Time in type | 55 hrs |
| Fatalities | 2 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Incorrect action performance-Pilot
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Airspeed-Capability exceeded
What happened
According to a previous owner of the experimental, amateur-built airplane, the pilot had flown aerobatic maneuvers in the airplane about 1 week before the accident, during which he exceeded the airplane’s never exceed speed of 230 mph by between about 20 to 25 mph. Additionally, two videos provided by a witness showed the airplane making two high-speed, low passes over the airport earlier on the day of the accident. The airplane owner stated that, after the pilot departed for the accident flight, the pilot flew over the local area for about 15 minutes and then performed a barrel roll. Video evidence revealed six rolls. Shortly thereafter, the canopy and vertical stabilizer separated, and the airplane subsequently descended nose down and impacted terrain. During the descent and just before impact, the outboard section of the right horizontal stabilizer separated.
Examination of the canopy frame revealed that it had separated due to overstress and that it did not have reinforcing gussets installed per a kit manufacturer canopy frame revision issued in 1984. Metallurgical examination of the vertical stabilizer revealed ratchet marks along the internal edge of the aft doubler rib consistent with stress and multiple fatigue cracks. Based on the evidence, it is likely that the pilot previously exceeded the airplane’s structural limits, which led to the in-flight separation of the vertical stabilizer and canopy.