Investigators find cause of fatal Utah plane crash
BY MOLLY MCMILLIN
The Wichita Eagle
The National Transportation Safety Board indicated in a
preliminary report Tuesday that the linkage on an
experimental twin-engine plane that killed two test pilots,
including Wichita State University graduate Nathan Forrest,
was installed incorrectly.

The Spectrum 33 crashed July 25 during takeoff from Spanish
Fork-Springville Airport at Spanish Fork, Utah. The NTSB
report said the plane's linkage -- which helps control the
plane -- was installed backward.

"It was connected in a manner that reversed the roll
control," the report said.

Witnesses indicated the airplane entered a right roll almost
immediately after takeoff and the right wingtip hit the
ground. The airplane -- which was made from advanced
composite materials -- was destroyed by the impact, but all
major components were accounted for in the wreckage, the
NTSB said.

Spectrum president Austin Blue told Aviation International
News that the company will continue with the program. First
flight of the next test plane, which will be designed to
ensure that the controls cannot be rigged incorrectly, will
occur sometime next year, Aviation International said.

Forrest, 25, was a former Olathe resident who graduated from
WSU in 2003. Also killed in the crash was 53-year old Glenn
Maben, Spectrum's director of flight operations.





Remember, always, control wheel left and say, as you look,
right one is down and the left one is up, pull backwards and
note not just that the stick moves, but that the elevator us
up. Then stick right, left one is down and the right one is
up then stick full forward and again verify the elevator
moved in the correct direction. If the pilot can't see the
control surfaces, have somebody on the outside to verify the
correct movement. Always do this, particularly after any
maintenance. It is not rare.



Some check lists say FREE and CORRECT.








--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Jose" wrote in message
. ..
| All airplanes can stall, even the stall proof airplanes.
| maybe the cargo shifts, maybe something happens, maybe
the
| A&P mis-rigs the elevator or the stop breaks.
|
| I like the "maybe something happens" method of stalling a
plane. I was
| (of course) referring to airplanes that have not broken,
and are being
| flown deliberately into a maneuver. Not all airplanes are
capable of
| all maneuvers.
|
| Jose
| --
| The monkey turns the crank and thinks he's making the
music.
| for Email, make the obvious change in the address.