Second Cessna 162 SKYCATCHER LSA Crashes in Test Flight

On Thursday 19 March, 2009 a second Cessna 162 Skycatcher Light Sport Aircraft crashed during a test flight in Kansas. Last September a Cessna 162 Skycatcher LSA also crashed during a test flight and subsequently, the vertical stabilizer and rudder of the Chinese-made aircraft have been enlarged. The second crash reportedly brought the aircraft successfully down with deployment of the aircraft parachute and no injury to the test pilot who nevertheless was taken to a hospital. One has to ask-Why did the second aircraft land upside down if Cessna states the deployment of the aircraft parachute was successful? Perhaps because it appears in a press photo to be intact? Answer-a subsequent article stated the aircraft came down on a fence which flipped it over.

The second crashed aircraft was to undergo spin testing during the flight, but Cessna has not stated it was doing spin testing at the time of the emergency that required deployment of the aircraft's parachute.

Further news states the recent second Cessna E162 Skycatcher crash was again due to an unrecoverable spin. The vertical stabilizer and rudder on the second aircraft had been enlarged after the first Skycatcher crash. In that crash, the aircraft was destroyed because the aircraft ballistic recovery parachute did not deploy. In the second crash, the aircraft chute did deploy but was responsible for aircraft damage because wind caused the chute to pull the aircraft over a half mile on the ground and over a fence and turn the aircraft on its back with extensive damage. Fortunately, in each accident, the pilots survived. See my photo of N162CE and others' photos taken at EAA AirVenture 2008 using Chris' link.

Further information: The N162CE Experimental C162 aircraft was in a rapid and disorienting developed test spin and normal anti-spin control movements did not recover it from the spin, so the test pilot elected to deploy the aircraft's BRS parachute. Once the aircraft stabilized beneath the BRS chute, the pilot attempted to jettison the chute (ability built into the test aircraft) to fly away the aircraft but the chute failed to separate. He then considered bailing out using his parachute but found he was too low for safe deployment so rode the aircraft down. He exited the aircraft and attempted to collapse the BRS chute but strong wind blew the chute and aircraft more than a half mile away with extensive aircraft damage. N162CE was the first and only Cessna Skycatcher LSA with the larger vertical stabilizer and larger rudder. Cessna is still committed to the Skycatcher LSA program despite loss of two test aircraft.

Ken,

There was a great deal of concerned, even angry aviation and aircraft pilot press panning Cessna's foreign production decision-which was based on lower cost labor in China. They stated they could not offer the C162 LSA at a reasonable, competitive price point unless it was manufactured abroad. (But, just think of engineering, production and QA oversight and shipping costs from abroad, with reassembly and flight test here). Cessna did a study and chose China for production manufacture. They have many, many orders for the aircraft-the first to be sold at $109,000, as I seem to recall. With the time delays to mass production and delivery because of the two crashes-this price may change, per my speculation.

Cessna is adamant about continuing the program, despite the test program crashes destroying two aircraft. One big point in the C162 design favor is use of the Continental O-200 100 horsepower engine with proven durability and repair anywhere, virtually, in distinction with foreign made engines in most LSA aircraft that many American A&Ps cannot or will not work on. A buyer has to think of supportability after the sale, which any Cessna dealer can do. But, first they have to be able to solve the recovery of the aircraft design from a fully developed stall/spin during developmental flight testing.

I'm in no position to speculate on the Cessna LSA test program second-guessing, and won't. Just remember the 1,320 pound weight limit for LSAs and the heavy by comparison Continental O-200 engine and BRS parachute installation don't leave a designer much wiggle room. Cessna still has to accommodate two adult people also in their LSA aircraft, and some large guys sitting in N162CE at AirVenture 2008 have found it wanting.

As an aside, in order to qualify the American Champion Aircraft "The Champ" as LSA they had to use a lighter wood prop, spring gear and reduce fuel to just 14 gallons. I don't see any Champ LSAs flying off the shelves, so to speak.

Again, I wouldn't speculate on re-engineering Cessna's C162 LSA. They have in-house Aeronautical Engineer employees. Cessna's C162 LSA flight test protocol was tough-full power cross control fully-developed stall/spin regimen that couldn't be unstalled.

Cessna earlier did find, however, when putting a swept tail on the C172 that it flew no different than the straight tail C172. The swept tail C172 was fully flight-tested. Only a sexier appearance to modernize and extend the design life, apparently. And that worked for them , with well over 40,000 C172s sold making it the single most-popular light aircraft worldwide..