Cessna 170 N4244V

Summary

On 15 April 2017 at about 19:23 local time, a Cessna 170 registered N4244V was involved in an accident near Williston, Florida, United States. 4 people were on board and 4 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

15 April 2017 at 19:23

Classification

Accident

Location

Williston, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Williston Muni (X60)

Coordinates

29.3661, -82.4636

Aircraft

Cessna 170

Registration

N4244V

Category

Airplane

Year built

1948

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Williston → Inverness

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA17FA155

4 people died.

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during initial climb in gusty wind conditions, which resulted in the airplane exceeding its critical angle-of-attack and experiencing an aerodynamic stall/spin.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

***This report was modified on October 15, 2018. Please see the docket for this accident to view the original report.*** The commercial pilot and three passengers were making a personal cross-country flight in the airplane. After a refueling stop, the airplane taxied to the runway and departed. Security video and flight data showed that the airplane had just departed the airport and was about 280 ft above the ground when it stalled and spun to the left, impacting the ground in a nose-down attitude. Post-accident examination of the engine and airframe revealed no evidence of a mechanical anomaly or failure that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane. The recorded weather at the airport at the time of the accident included a right-quartering headwind at 8 knots gusting to 17 knots. The flight data revealed that the airplane slowed to an estimated airspeed (ground speed with correction applied for reported wind conditions) of around 49 to 51 knots just before the stall occurred, which was near the airplane's published power-on stall speed of 46 knots; however, the gusting wind conditions likely resulted in a further decrease of the airplane's airspeed and increase of its angle-of-attack.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.