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Published Thursday, June 1, 2006
Wing Failure Blamed In Crash
Federal officials release findings of inquiry into the deaths of two pilots.
By Amber Smith
The Ledger
HAINES CITY -- A crack in the right wing bracket is to blame for the crash of a World War II vintage plane last year that killed the two pilots.
National Transportation Safety Board officials released the probable cause findings Wednesday in the May 9, 2005, crash of the Kissimmee trainer plane in the wooded areas of the Allen David Broussard Catfish Creek State Preserve near Lake Hamilton.
Jonathon Hedgecock was the pilot of the SNJ-6 plane owned by Warbird Adventures Inc. of Kissimmee. His passenger, Jim Kern of Springer, Okla., was taking flying lessons in the trainer at the time of the crash.
The report said both men died of blunt force trauma from the crash. Neither had any signs of drugs or alcohol in their system at the time of the crash.
Witnesses said the plane had been doing aerial acrobatics then appeared to have lost its right wing before it started into a nose dive and hit the ground in a heavily wooded area near the FFA Training Center off Fire Tower Road.
"Post-accident examination of the accident site revealed that the engine, propellers, main fuselage, left wing assembly, vertical and horizontal stabilizers were located in a crater 10-feet in diameter and 6-feet in depth," according to the report filed by NTSB investigator Eric Alleyne.
Alleyne said the right wing was found 780 feet from the rest of the wreckage.
There was no record of either pilot calling for help.
The two men were on a 30minute flight lesson and had taken off from the Kissimmee Gateway Airport. The crash occurred about 4:30 p.m.
Alleyne said in his report that "the right wing separated due to the fatigue failure of the forward lower attach flange at the inboard side of the right wing attach joint."
According to the report, there was already a slight crack in the bracket, but it got worse during the flight and gave way.
Alleyne's preliminary report said that maintenance records on the SNJ-6 showed that on May 20, 2001, the "right-hand side top wing attach angle bracket" was replaced. In addition, the righthand wing center aileron hinge was reinforced and the right elbow panel was replaced, and all the nut plates were replaced with new machine screws.
As a result of the crash, in June 2005 the Federal Aviation Administration issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive requiring the use of fluorescent dye penetrant in inspections of wing attach flanges every 200 hours the plane is in service.
The official cause of the crash is listed as, "The failure of the outboard right-wing lower attachment bracket due to fatigue cracking and the subsequent in-flight separation of the right wing assembly."
Both men had extensive flight experience.
Hedgecock had both a private and commericial pilot's license and had more than 1,700 flight hours in the SNJ-6 and more than 6,400 hours of total flight time.
Kern had a commercial pilot's license and had about 4,000 flight hours.
Amber Smith can be reached at
amber.smith@theledger.com or 863-422-6800
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