N76456Cessna 140 · 1946

On June 2, 2009, about 1820 central daylight time, a Cessna 140, N76456, owned and piloted by a private pilot was substantially damaged when it nosed over during an aborted takeoff at the Creve Coeur Airport (1H0), near St. Louis, Missouri. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot was not injured. The local area flight departed about 5 minutes before the accident.

The accident occurred during the second flight since the airplane had undergone maintenance on the left flap assembly. The first flight was performed within an hour of the accident and consisted of four landings at 1H0. The airplane was refueled between the two flights.

The pilot stated that he departed on runway 16 and entered a right traffic pattern for runway 25 (3,120 feet by 220 feet, grass) to perform two additional landings. The first landing was uneventful and he back-taxied to the approach end of runway 25 before initiating his second takeoff. He reported hearing a loud bang shortly after liftoff, about 30 feet above the runway, which was followed by repeated banging from behind his position. He performed an immediate landing, touching down with about 50 feet of runway remaining. The airplane overran the end of the runway, crossed over a taxiway and runway 16, before entering a wheat field. The airplane nosed over as it decelerated in the wheat crop, substantially damaging the vertical stabilizer, rudder, and aft fuselage. The propeller, spinner, engine mounts, both flaps, and the right aileron were also damaged.

Examination of the wreckage revealed that the upper half of the left inboard wing fairing was bent upward and aft. The one-piece aluminum fairing forms the trailing edge and is located between the inboard edge of the flap and the fuselage. The fairing is secured to the upper and lower wing structure with screws. The fairing remained attached to the lower wing structure by its corresponding screws. None of the five upper screws were located. The upper screw holes on the fairing sheet metal and their corresponding holes and nut-plates on the wing structure did not exhibit any damage.

The fairing had been removed during the recent flap maintenance. According to the mechanic who performed the maintenance, the fairing was reinstalled in the presence of several individuals, including the pilot, and that all of the screws were installed before he returned the airplane to service. According to the pilot, during his preflight inspection he visually confirmed that the screws were installed, although he did not verify their security.