FAA issues advisory in wake of Hamptons plane crash that killed Kent Feuerring

The October fatal light-plane crash in the Hamptons, though still being probed, led the Federal Aviation Administration to advise anyone flying the Seamax M-22 aircraft to be sure preflight checks guard against a possible cause: a missing nut that might be why the right wing fell off.

"At this time, the airworthiness concern is not an unsafe condition that would warrant … directive action," the federal regulators said in a Dec. 23 "Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin." Instead, the FAA explained, its bulletin “provides procedures to inspect the aircraft’s wing strut attachment hardware for proper security.”

The Oct. 6 crash off Three Mile Harbor near East Hampton killed pilot Kent Feuerring, 57, of Sagaponack.

Though the Seamax was a new plane, the National Transportation Safety Board previously reported its right wing separated and landed in a tree 770 feet away from the rest of the craft that crashed into shallow waters north of town.

A preliminary NTSB report noted that the bolt attaching the right strut to the right wing remained attached to the wing. However, the nut was missing. 

“The NTSB finding that the bolt was still in its proper position, and the nut was missing, and that the bolt threads were not ‘significantly damaged’ suggests the nut was not properly secured per the Service Bulletin and may have been loose or missing prior to the flight,” said Gregory A. Feith, a former senior air safety investigator with the NTSB, referring to the manufacturer's earlier inspection alerts.

Catastrophic crashes like this one — with planes losing their wings — are exceptionally uncommon, experts say, unless pilots are braving storms or risking stunts they or their aircraft cannot handle.

Well before the crash, the Brazilian-based manufacturer had twice issued “instructions for inspecting wing attachment areas,” the FAA noted.

And three days after the crash, the aircraft maker, saying it was cooperating with investigators, recommended “visual and detailed” inspections as outlined in its manuals and in a May 2020 bulletin.

“Concerned about other Seamax planes flying around the world, we advise the execution of the following steps,” its notice said. In addition to checking control systems, wing and engine attachment points, and aerodynamic surfaces, etc., it added: “Perform preflight inspection with caution.”

The aircraft maker’s U.S. headquarters, in Daytona Beach, Florida, had no immediate comment.

“Special Airworthiness Information Bulletins are used routinely,” said Mina Kaji, an FAA spokeswoman. She referred to a database listing 19 such notices this year about a wide variety of problems, from emergency exits to landing gear.

"However," Feith said, "if the problem continues and another serious incident or accident occurs," the FAA may "require the maintenance personnel/operator/pilot to inspect this assembly on whatever schedule they believe is necessary to ensure it remains in its designed configuration.”

Shem Malmquist, a Florida Institute of Technology visiting professor who flies Boeing 777s around the world, agreed such bulletins are not unusual.

Both he and Michael F. Canders, associate professor of aviation and director of the Aviation Center at Farmingdale State College, found the aircraft maker’s previous advisories noteworthy.

“It is interesting that the manufacturer clearly identified a problem and issued service bulletins, but fell short of mandating a repair or modification to the design itself,” Malmquist said by email.

The “FAA acted only once a crash had occurred, which is often the case,” he added.

The apparently abbreviated preflight check undertaken by Feuerring, who had no passengers, already had caught the eye of investigators, though the lead agency, the NTSB, will not issue its final report with a probable cause for two years or more.

The pilot, president of the East Hampton Aviation Association, arrived at the town airport at 11:59 a.m. and “pulled the plane out of the hangar at 12:06 p.m.,” the NTSB has said, citing surveillance video.

“Between 12:06 p.m. and 12:08 p.m. the pilot performed a preflight inspection, entered the airplane, shut the canopy, and started the engine at 12:09 p.m.”

Canders, who flew for both the Navy and the Air Force in 33 years of service, said “Owner-operators need to be very, very disciplined about these preflights.” 

“Two minutes? That’s too quick,” he said, estimating “a good, solid preflight of an airplane that size should take 15 to 20 minutes, just to take a real good look.”

Some of his pupils, he said, bring their cellphones along, which risks distracting them. Or they figure it’s like jumping in a car and driving right off.

“I’m not suggesting this happened, but sometimes pilots, if they are going to cut corners, they cut the corners on the preflight.” 

Pilots also must check the weather and any safety or other bulletins before making sure their aircraft is sound. Said Canders: “This is another aspect of the discipline of flying — you need to give yourself time.”