Young MERLIN GT N2100S

Summary

On 19 April 1997 at about 16:00 local time, a Young MERLIN GT registered N2100S was involved in an accident near Fort Myers, Florida, United States. 2 people were on board and one died, one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

19 April 1997 at 16:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Fort Myers, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Pine Shadows Airpark (94FL)

Coordinates

26.7408, -81.8390

Aircraft

Young MERLIN GT

Registration

N2100S

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA97LA141

1 person died.

the pilot's failure to maintain airspeed during the initial climb after takeoff, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin and subsequent collision with the terrain. Factors relating to the accident were: the pilot's failure to use all available runway, and his failure to recognize the reduced performance of the aircraft, when it was configured with floats, and was flown with two occupants aboard, with the doors locked open.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of the amphibious/homebuilt aircraft elected to take off from an intersection of a taxiway and runway from which there was 1,600 feet of runway remaining. The passenger stated that after departure, while climbing through 250 feet, the pilot began pumping the throttle as if he was trying to get more power out of the engine. The passenger did not notice a loss of engine power. As the pilot pumped the throttle, the aircraft stalled and entered a spin to the left from which it crashed. After the accident, the engine was operated to full power with no evidence of failure or malfunction. The fuel oil mixture appeared normal in color, the engine showed no damage from oil starvation, and the spark plugs had deposit coloring consistent with normal operation. No evidence of malfunction of the aircraft structure or flight control systems was found. A representative of the company that produced the aircraft kit stated the aircraft on floats with the 65 horsepower engine was under-powered and that they normally did not fly it with 2 persons onboard. The passenger noted that the cabin doors were locked open and that there was a lot of noise in the aircraft. The company representative said the aircraft flew fine with the doors locked up, although this would reduce performance.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.