MEBANE, NC, USA
N7VC
VERNON L. COX COX-HAWK
During cruise flight the pilot encountered adverse weather ahead. He initiated a 180-degree turn but inadvertently entered clouds. The pilot became spatially disoriented and the airplane began descending with the airspeed increasing beyond Vne. The aileron system then failed and 2 of the 6 flying wires for the left wing also failed. The flight descended below the base of the clouds about 1,300 feet above ground level and the pilot made a forced landing into a field. After touchdown in a rough field the airplane cartwheeled and came to rest upright. The pilot did not obtain a weather briefing before takeoff, and the airplane was not equipped with instruments for controlling the airplane without reference to terrain.
On April 20, 1996, about 1005 eastern daylight time, a homebuilt Cox-Hawk, N7VC, registered to a private individual, was substantially damaged during a forced landing near Mebane, North Carolina. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight. The commercial-rated pilot sustained serious injuries. The flight originated about 0945 from a private airstrip near Apex, North Carolina. The pilot stated that he did not obtain a weather briefing before takeoff. After departure during cruise flight between cloud layers with adverse weather ahead, he initiated a turn to perform a 180-degree turn to avoid the weather. The airplane which was not equipped with an attitude indicator or turn coordinator then entered clouds. The pilot further stated that the airplane began descending with the airspeed increasing beyond the designed never exceed speed(Vne). During the descent he felt buffeting through the airframe and observed that two of the six flying wires for the left wing were failed and the aileron flight control system was failed. The airplane emerged from the clouds about 1,300 feet above ground level and the pilot arrested the descent then selected a field for the forced landing. After touchdown in a rough field, the airplane cartwheeled and came to rest upright.
The pilot's inadvertent flight into instrument meteorological conditions in an airplane not equipped with appropriate instrumentation which led to the pilot's inability to maintain control and spatial disorientation. In addition, during an attemped recovery from the loss of control, the airplane exceeded Vne which resulted in failure of the aileron flight control system and flying wires. Contributing to the accident was the failure of the pilot to obtain a preflight weather briefing and the unsuitable terrain encountered during the forced landing.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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