CEN09FA220
NTSB Identification: CEN09FA220
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Thursday, March 19, 2009 in El Dorado, KS
Aircraft: CESSNA AIRCRAFT CO E162, registration: N162CE
Injuries: 1 Uninjured.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.

On March 19, 2009, at 0950 central daylight time, a Cessna Aircraft Company E162 model Skycatcher, experimental airplane, N162CE, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain near El Dorado, Kansas, following a loss of control during a test flight. The airline transport pilot was not injured. The flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 without a flight plan. The local flight originated at Cessna Aircraft Field Airport (CEA), Wichita, Kansas. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident.

The pilot departed CEA about 0900 to conduct spin testing. During a planned test condition the airplane entered a rapid and disorienting spin. The pilot applied spin recovery controls and the airplane continued to spin without apparent response, so the pilot deployed the airplane's Ballistic Recovery System (BRS) parachute. The BRS had been specifically modified to allow the chute to be jettisoned by the pilot if altitude and conditions allowed. After BRS deployment and the airplane became stabilized in the parachute, the pilot attempted to jettison the chute several times. Each jettison attempt was unsuccessful. The pilot then opened the airplane door to bailout and utilize a personal parachute, but realized he was too low to ensure a successful bailout and elected to stay with the airplane. The pilot shut down the engine prior to landing.

The airplane landed upright in an open field, breaking off the nose gear and splaying the main landing gear partially. The pilot got out of the airplane and attempted to disengage and collapse the BRS chute, but surface winds inflated the parachute and drug the airplane. The airplane traveled about .6 miles before getting caught in a fence and flipping over.

Examination of the airplane revealed the right wing bent upward, left and right ailerons damaged, and the horizontal stabilizer bent. Flight control cable continuity was verified from the cockpit controls to each aileron, elevator and rudder control surfaces.

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