Murphy Aircraft Elite

Full Narrative

On July 15, 2011, about 2041 eastern daylight time, an experimental, amateur-built, Murphy Elite, N113SM, was substantially damaged following a loss of airplane control and collision with terrain at Genesee Airport (GVQ), Batavia, New York. The commercial pilot was seriously injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The local flight was originating at the time of the accident.

The pilot reported the following. He was flying the airplane for its first flight after being "rebuilt." His intentions were to stay in the local traffic pattern. After performing a preflight inspection and several ground run-ups of the engine, a high-speed taxi was completed. All appeared normal with the airplane, so he initiated a takeoff on runway 10. When the airplane was about 8 to 10 inches off the ground, the pilot felt the airplane being pulled up and to the left. He lost control of the airplane and the left wing struck the ground. The airplane flipped over and came to a stop, inverted, on an embankment off the left side of the runway. The engine "stalled" after the airplane became inverted.

An FAA inspector responded to the accident site and examined the wreckage. Structural damage to the fuselage and empennage was confirmed. Flight control continuity was established to the rudder and elevator. The end of the aileron control rod was fractured, and the inspector retained the broken parts for further examination.

The fractured aileron control rod parts were forwarded to the NTSB Materials Laboratory for examination. The parts consisted of a male rod end fabricated by Aurora Bearing Company, Montgomery, Illinois, as part number MM-4M. Examination of the parts revealed fracture features and macroscopic deformation consistent with overstress failure. Shank thread deformation was consistent with cantilever bending.