The Late, Great Tommy Rose.  September 13, 2002 Reno Air Races Sports Class Crash of experimental Questair M-20 Venture aircraft, N360.  Slow motion and image stabilization revealing failure of both horizontal stabilizers,  through overload stress and possibly in the slip stream of preceding aircraft inducing stabilizer overload and possible elevator flutter at speeds above Vne.   Speed estimated at 330 knts.  Vne = 300 kias.  Video analysis by Ken Brock.

That was over so quickly he probably didn’t even know it had happened.

For a time there were quite a lot of those Ventures racing in the Sport Class.  

After this accident, they pretty much all stopped racing.

Wow!  

The back fell off.

No time to even finish swearing.

I was there.

Damn.

What was that one where the guy drilled right into the audience stand? That made me never want to go to another air show

Galloping Ghost.

Galloping Ghost, 2011

Same.

At least he didn't suffer. That sucks.

Wow.  That was shitty.

What are those airframes supposed to be rated to, pos/neg?  (at maximum speed, not maneuvering speed)

ETA:

Investigating agency: NTSB
Narrative:
The amateur-built experimental airplane sustained a structural failure of the left and right horizontal stabilizers and the associated elevators while participating in the sport class race as part of the annual Reno Air Races. Following the structural failure of the stabilizers and elevators, the airplane dove into the ground. FAA inspectors monitoring air race activities responded to the accident site and interviewed witnesses. The accident occurred about halfway through the sport class race. As the airplane was rounding pylon No. 1, the horizontal stabilizers and elevators began flexing (one witness said the airplane began a shallow porpoise just before the crash) and then bent down. The airplane then dove into the ground. On-site assessment of the wreckage disclosed that the horizontal stabilizers and elevators remained attached to the empennage; however, they were bent down at an acute angle at a point about 2 feet outboard from the root on each side. The airplane was extensively fragmented and control system continuity could not be established on scene. The airspeed indicator was recovered in the debris; the needle was trapped between the fractured glass and the instrument face at the 300-knot/red line. Official timers for the Reno Air Races reported to FAA inspectors that based on time over the measured course distance, the airplane was doing 330 knots just before the accident. The present owner of the design rights for this experimental kit-built all metal airplane said that the airplane was designed by professional aircraft design engineers who worked for a major general aviation manufacturer. The airplane was designed with a gross weight design maneuvering speed (Va) of 156 knots indicated airspeed (KIAS). Never exceed speed (Vne) is 300 KIAS, and the maximum structural cruising speed (Vno) is 265 KIAS. During the design and prototype development, a ground vibration test (GVT) survey was performed, with no excitable nodes found within the airplane's anticipated envelope. The flight test program validated that flutter could not be excited up to Vne. The design owner said that during the developmental flight test work with the prototype, it was flown one time without an artificial force feel limiting device in the elevator control circuit. The stick force per g without the force feel/limiters is less than a pound of control force. During that flight the test pilots encountered a very severe pilot induced oscillation (PIO). A spring assembly was devised for the elevator control circuit to impart a 10-pound per g force feel feed back in the elevator controls to prevent PIO. Examination of the wreckage disclosed that the spring in the elevator force feel/limiter assembly was the wrong size and had only 30 percent of the required tension. Other discrepancies were noted concerning the bushings and bearings in the elevator attachments and the construction workmanship.

Probable Cause: the overload failure of the horizontal stabilizers and elevators due to a pilot induced oscillation at a speed at or above Vne, which exceeded the design stress limits of the structure. Also causal was the intentional alteration by an unknown person or persons of the elevator down spring assembly, which likely reduced the stick force per G from a nominal 10 pounds to less than 1, and led to the pilot induced oscillation. An additional cause was the pilot's decision to operate the aircraft at, above, or near never exceed speed.

Thankfully I was not there for this one or the Galloping Ghost.

I doubt he had time know/think anything other than he had a problem.

Maybe actually watching the short video would have answered this question

Goofy looking plane

Attached File




At an RC event I attended a couple of months after that a giant-scale model of Voodoo almost plowed into the stands due to an idiot pilot. Little eerie

I had a front row seat for that one.

If you've ever seen Lock Stock and Two Smoking barrels I was walking around like Kenny after the Butler blew his perm off for a few days after that.

I like the looks. Kinda reminds me of the Me163 Komet.

I've worked on one. Death trap. Very short coupled, lending itself to longitudinal instability. Screwy landing gear and nose wheel steering system. This one broke engine mounts. I refused to be roped into repairing them. Owner sold it and it left in the safest condition, disassembled, on a trailer. I probably saved his life.

fuck we were there earlier in the day. I forgot my hat and got sun stroke, so headed back to the hotel.  Watching the video we were able to pinpoint our seats. Yup, pretty damn close to where we were sitting not an hour or so before.

Miss Ashley II





1999: Gary Levitz of Grand Prairie, Texas, P-51 disintegrated during a race, scattering debris and damaging a house.

At the Reno Air Races, in turn 1 of the Saturday Unlimited heat race, lap 1, Gary Levitz piloting Miss Ashley II lost his life when the empenage of the aircraft separated causing the aircraft to break up in flight and impact the ground east of the airport. Levitz, 61, was a 30 year veteran of air racing and was competing in the Gold heat race. This highly modified racer uses a Rolls-Royce Griffon engine with contra-rotating props. It also uses a Learjet wing and highly modified tail section. This aircraft was built strictly for racing.

I think this is the only known photo of the disintegration on the P-51



It was cloudy on Sept 18, 1999 which was the 3rd day of the Reno airrace and I was almost giving up taking photos, but I did take a photo of "Miss Ashly II" N57LR during taxi before the race, and then after the race has started, had the camera on my lap.
I was not paying much attention to the race when a man sitting next to me shouted "Oh Shit !"
I saw some metal pieces in the air. By instant, I was taking a picture.
There were smoke coming up from ground, the fire engine and ambulance raced to the crash site.
Surprisingly the race continued on. I tried to find who is missing - and soon noticed that the twin propeller mustang-based aircraft, Miss Ashley II is missing.
Later on I found out the plane had fallen apart in mid air, it was a single aircraft accident and not a collision as I first thought, and the pilot, Gary Levitz must have died while still in the air.

Link


Miss Ashley II sound (1:30)