Aviat A-1A N16HY

Summary

On 5 May 2007 at about 12:50 local time, a Aviat A-1A registered N16HY, operated by Vincent Pacifico, was involved in an accident near Farmingdale, New York, United States. 2 people were on board and one was seriously injured, one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

5 May 2007 at 12:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Farmingdale, New York, United States

Nearest airport

Republic Aiport (KFRG)

Coordinates

40.7239, -73.4081

Aircraft

Aviat A-1A

Registration

N16HY

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Vincent Pacifico

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Farmingdale → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DFW07LA105

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane during a short-field takeoff, which resulted in an inadvertent stall.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane stalled during initial takeoff climb as the pilot was performing a simulated short field takeoff. The pilot/owner boarded his passenger, started the airplane, and taxied to a 5,516-foot-long by 150-foot-wide asphalt runway. The pilot elected to perform a short-field takeoff. Once the airplane became airborne, the pilot established a pronounced nose-high attitude as he attempted to establish a climb airspeed of 55 knots. The pilot was under the impression that the stall speed of the airplane was between 47 and 51 knots and the best angle of climb speed (Vx) was between 55 and 60 knots. The pilot added that when the airplane reached an altitude of 100 to 200 feet above the runway, the engine RPM dropped and the airspeed decreased. The airplane stalled and the nose of the airplane dropped toward the ground, impacting the runway. A witness, who was a flight instructor, was standing on the airport ramp near the main terminal building when he saw the airplane takeoff. He said the airplane was in an "extreme nose high attitude" and he never saw the pilot make an attempt to lower the nose. Examination of the airplane revealed that the airplane came to rest upright on the west side of the runway near the 1,020-foot fixed-distance marks on the runway. The initial impact point was a series of four slash marks on the runway surface just prior to where the airplane came to rest. The flaps were found in the zero-degree (fully retracted) position and the elevator trim tab was positioned one-quarter of a turn from neutral towards the nose down position. According to the airplane's Flight Manual, the tab should be set halfway between neutral and full nose-up for a high performance takeoff. In addition, the published stall speed for the airplane with flaps (power on) was 33 miles per hour (mph) (29 knots).

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.