NTSB investigates missing Avantair P180 elevator


The two pilots of an Avantair Piaggio P180 Avanti II that landed at the Henderson Executive airport in Nevada the morning of 28 July discovered during a post-flight check that the twin turboprop's left elevator was missing.
The finding came after a positioning flight of N146SL from Camarillo, California, to San Diego, followed by a Part 91 fractional flight from San Diego to Henderson with two passengers on board.
According to a preliminary report by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the crew reported that they had a "non-eventful departure and flight from San Diego, and that the captain noticed that more back pressure on the flight controls was required for a normal landing upon arrival at Henderson".
NTSB says airport personnel at Camarillo on July 31 found the missing left elevator "near one of the runways".
A pusher aircraft, the Avanti II has a canard horizontal stabiliser surface with retractable flaps on the nose and a fixed horizontal T-tail stabilizer in the rear with left and right elevators.
 
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Avantair says the aircraft suffered no damage as a result of the event, which the NTSB has classified as an accident. The company expected the aircraft to resume service by 4 August.

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