Nelson Funston
Here is the (rather short) NTSB report;
"This was the first flight after removal of the glider from storage
and its reassembly. The pilot reported that during takeoff initial
climb, the glider started to roll to the left despite his control
inputs. He decided to abort the takeoff and land straight ahead while
attempting to maintain control of the powered glider. Subsequently,
the left wing struck the ground and the glider began to cart wheel.
Examination of the airframe revealed that the left and right wings
were structurally damaged and the empennage was partially separated.
Examination of the flight control system revealed that the left
aileron connecting rod was disconnected at the fuselage/wing quick
connection point and was undamaged. The pilot stated that during
assembly of the glider prior to the flight, the left aileron control
tube was inadvertently not attached and that he did not verify that
all flight controls moved free and correct prior to takeoff."
What is confusing to me is the statement "...pilot stated that during
assembly...the left aileron...was inadvertently not attached...".
This is an absolute statement that the pilot definately knew that the
left aileron was not attached. How would the pilot know this? If he
knew for a fact that the aileron was unattached, he would not have
left it unattached, would he? Was it partially attached and appeared
attached, only to detach during roll and liftoff? This would lead to
a different statement. I hope that the NTSB misquoted the pilot by
missing an important "Pilot: I wonder if..." (which is speculation on
the pilot's part and shouldn't be in the statement at all). If this
is a misquote, I would work to get the NTSB statement changed ASAP.
I, like others, would like to understand how one disconnected aileron
would cause loss of control. I always thought of that as a somewhat
benign mishap. It's the thought of a disconnected elevator that keeps
*ME* up at night.
- John DeRosa
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