ERA11FA287

The pilot's inadvertent application of control inputs that resulted in rapid, right-rolling, negative g-forces during night cruise flight and his subsequent ejection from the airplane. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's decision to fly at night in an airplane not approved for night flight, his unbuckling of the seat belt portion of the restraint harness, and the inadvertent opening of the airplane’s canopy.

The pilot, who had previously provided flight instruction in the light sport airplane to its two principal owners, was flying it at night from Florida to Illinois. The pilot had flown commercially from Illinois to Florida earlier that day and had been offered lodging by the owners on several occasions but declined. The airplane was not approved for night operations due, in part, to a lack of interior lighting. For over an hour after takeoff, on a clear, dark night, the airplane was headed northbound in straight and level flight at 6,500 feet. The pilot, who had been in contact with an air traffic control facility, had been told to switch to a new radio frequency; afterward radar contact was lost and there were no distress calls from the pilot. The airplane impacted wooded terrain and was mostly consumed by post-impact fire. All flight control surfaces were accounted for at the scene and no preexisting mechanical anomalies were found. There was no evidence of an in-flight fire and no evidence of the pilot attempting to use the whole-airplane ballistic parachute system. The pilot was found about 1/3 mile away from the wreckage, about 600 feet to the right of the airplane's radar track. Numerous personal items were also located to the right of the airplane's radar track, with heavier items generally closer to the track than the lighter items. Shards of bubble-canopy glass and the canopy frame were found at the airplane's impact site, but no shards were noted in the vicinity of where the pilot or the personal items were found, indicating that the canopy was likely unlatched and open when the pilot and the other items exited the airplane. Each seat of the two-seat airplane was equipped with a four-point restraint harness, with each harness having four identical belt adjusting mechanisms: two for the risers and two for the seatbelt portion of the harness. Except for a number of small pieces, both harnesses were almost entirely burned. One surviving piece, for adjusting either a riser or a seat belt portion of the harness, had distorted metal and pulled material, consistent with sudden, forceful loading. The top of the pilot's shoulders also exhibited bruising, indicative of a sudden loading while the harness risers were loosely in place. There were no marks on the pilot's frontal area to indicate that the seat belt portion of the harness was buckled at the time of the loading. Ground testing revealed that access to the back shelf behind the seats would have been difficult to reach if the pilot had not unbuckled the seat belt portion of his restraint harness and loosened the risers. Thus, it is likely that the pilot tried to reach something on the back shelf. Then, at some point afterward, the canopy T-handle likely became unlatched, possibly having been caught by a loose right harness riser or a looped headset wire that plugged in next to the canopy handle. With a dark, noisy cockpit, the pilot likely then inadvertently applied rapid control inputs that resulted right-rolling, negative g-forces of sufficient intensity to eject him and the other personal items.

HISTORY OF FLIGHT On May 6, 2011, at 2328 eastern daylight time, a special light sport Czech Sport Aircraft AS Piper Sport, N420PS, was substantially damaged when it impacted wooded terrain in Spring Hill, Florida. The certificated commercial pilot was fatally injured. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the flight from Page Field (FMY), Fort Myers, Florida, to Joliet Regional Airport (JOT), Joliet, Illinois. The positioning flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. According to information from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the airplane departed Fort Myers at 2213. The pilot subsequently received flight following from Tampa Approach Control, and was advised to contact Jacksonville Center, which the pilot acknowledged. There were no further transmissions from the pilot. Radar data indicated that at 2327:53, the airplane was proceeding northbound, over a residential area at 6,500 feet. At 2327:57, the altitude readout was 6,400 feet. At 2328:02, the altitude readout was 6,000 feet, indicating an average rate of descent of about 4,800 feet per minute (fpm) during the previous 5 seconds. The next and final altitude readout occurred at 2328:11, at 3,500 feet, indicating an average rate of descent in excess of 16,000 fpm during the previous 9 seconds. Altitude readouts then ceased; however, there were several additional "skin paint" radar returns, including two to the northeast of the original track that led to the airplane's impact site. There were no radar returns from any other objects in the vicinity of the airplane while it was en route at 6,500 feet. According to a witness who was about 1/3 mile southeast of the airplane's impact site, he saw what he thought was a helicopter "spiraling" towards the ground. He then saw a "red burst" and smoke. He went inside a building to inform others of the crash, and when he went back outside, he heard another "boom." The witness did not note an in-flight fire. AIRCRAFT INFORMATION The low-wing, two-seat aluminum airplane was powered by a single, 100-horsepower Rotax 912ULS engine. Flight control surfaces were moved via conventional rudder pedals and a flight control stick in front of each seat. Over -wing access to the two seats was via a front-hinged bubble canopy, and behind the seats was an elevated area that could accommodate up to 40 pounds of baggage or cargo. The canopy was latched by a T-handle located in the center divider that pivoted from near shoulder height when unlatched to approximately elbow height when latched. There was one cam latch on each side of the canopy. Two headset communications jacks were located on either side of the canopy T-handle. Occupants were secured in their seats by four-point harnesses with one airframe attachment point on each side of the seat for the seat belt portions of the harness, and one airframe attachment point aft of the seat for both harness risers. Each riser and each seat belt portion of the harness had similar adjustment hardware (total of four), consisting of two metal parts covered by plastic. One of the metal parts was rectangular in shape with a rectangular hole in it, and with belt material then attached to it on one end, and the airframe and the airframe on the other (directly in the case of seat belt portions, and through a common link for the risers.) The other metal part was U-shaped, and allowed the other part of the riser to slide through it in order to adjust riser tightness. The airplane was equipped with a glass cockpit and autopilot, and with a Ballistic Recovery Systems (BRS) whole-airplane parachute system that included an arming pin and handle located on a vertical subpanel below the main instrument panel and between the two seats. The airplane was not approved for night operations; to be approved, it would have needed, among other things, instrument and interior lighting. The airplane was registered to a limited liability company with two principal owners. According to one of the owners, the airplane's logbooks were on the airplane during the accident flight, but he recalled that it had about 100 hours of total operating time, and an invoice indicated that it had an annual inspection on or about April 14, 2011. Both owners had homes in both Florida and Illinois, and the pilot was ferrying it back to Illinois. The airplane was carrying some of the owners' golf equipment, along with some of the pilot's personal items. PERSONNEL INFORMATION The pilot's logbook was not recovered. FAA records indicated the pilot, age 23, held a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for single engine and multi-engine land airplanes, and instrument-airplane. He also held a flight instructor certificate for single engine and multi-engine airplanes, and instrument-airplane. The pilot's latest FAA first class medical certificate was issued on March 14, 2011, and at the time, he reported 2,350 total flight hours. According to one of the owners of the airplane, the pilot had provided flight instruction to both of them in the accident airplane, and had flown with one of them from Illinois to Florida the previous fall. According to the pilot's father, the pilot was at a positive place in his life, with a young daughter, and he was engaged to be married. The pilot's father also advised detectives that his son had no history of mental illness, never attempted to hurt himself in the past, and took no medications. One of the principal owners of the airplane stated that, on the day of the accident, he picked up the pilot at JOT somewhere around 1200 or 1300, and drove him to Chicago Midway Airport, where the pilot boarded a commercial flight to the international airport in Fort Myers, Florida. Upon arrival at Fort Myers, a friend of the owner picked up the pilot, delivered the pilot to the hangar at FMY where the airplane was kept "about 1 hour or so" before the flight. The owner also stated that when he picked up the pilot at JOT, he asked him if he'd like to stay at the hangar overnight, which had lodging facilities, or he could also provide a hotel room, if the pilot preferred. The pilot declined, stating that he had gotten a very good night's sleep the previous evening, and that he had even slept away from the baby. The owner further observed the pilot to be in "his usual good mood, with his infectious smile" when he saw him. The owner also stated that he spoke to the pilot twice more after he arrived in Florida, once being when he and the driver got lost on their way to FMY, and both times the pilot seemed upbeat. The owner also noted that the driver who picked up the pilot in Florida also offered him a room to stay at her home, but he declined. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION Weather, recorded at an airport about 1 nautical mile to the east, at 2353, included calm winds, clear skies, and 7 statute miles visibility. According to U.S. Naval Observatory data, a waxing crescent moon, with 11 percent of the visible disk illuminated, set at 2324. WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION The airplane impacted the ground in the vicinity of 28 degrees, 28.08 minutes north latitude, 082 degrees, 29.10 minutes west longitude. There was a post-crash fire, and the majority of the wreckage, except for the tail section, exhibited extensive fire and impact damage. The tail section did not exhibit any fore-to-aft soot streaks that would have been consistent with an in-flight fire. Positions of the major components and airframe crush patterns were consistent with an almost vertical, nose-down, slightly inverted ground impact. All flight control surfaces or their remnants were accounted for at the scene. The leading edges of the wings were mostly burnt away, and the leading edges of the horizontal stabilizer and rudder did not reveal any evidence of bird strike. The engine and propeller exhi