Penn Yan Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Seneca, New York 14547
Sunday, September 12, 2004 13:06 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot departed from his property in the homebuilt airplane, and several witnesses saw the airplane maneuvering in the local area. One witness said the airplane was flying approximately 150 to 200 feet above the ground. Another observed the airplane in a climbing right turn, and said that he thought the pilot was "goofing off" because of the steepness of the turn. The airplane continued to turn through 360 degrees, then the nose pointed towards the ground. The airplane spiraled straight down, and collided with terrain in a field. Examination of the airplane and its engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunction, and the student pilot's son, the airplane's owner, described the condition of the airplane as "immaculate." The airplane's most recent annual inspection was 15 months prior to the accident. The pilot held a student pilot certificate. He was not endorsed for solo flight, and his instructor said that based on his demonstrated abilities he could not, and would not; endorse the pilot for solo flight.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The student pilot's failure to maintain airspeed above stall speed, which resulted in an inadvertant stall/spin. A factor in the accident was the pilot's lack of pilot certification.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/12/2004
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1306
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Seneca
Event State NEW YORK
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 14547
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 425304N
Event Location Longitude 0770408W
Event Location Airport Penn Yan
Event Location Nearest Airport ID PEO
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 16
Degrees magnetic from airport 216
Airport Elevation 990
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1253 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 216
Weather Observation Facility ID POE
Elevation of weather observation facility 990
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 16
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 23
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 16
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 250
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.18
Density Altitude (feet) 2067
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 17311
NTSB Notification Source FAA Eastern Region
NTSB Notification Date Sep 12 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1420
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Feb 24 2005 9:13AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Rochester, NY

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N195CB
NTSB Number IAD04LA046
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion Ground
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Scott
Aircraft Model Rans S-12
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 0894512
Certified Max Gross Weight 1100
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Todd A. Jones
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Clifton Springs
Aircraft Owner State NY
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 14432
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code NONE
Departure City Clifton Springs
Departure State NY
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1300
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record --
User who most recently changed record --
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --