Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Nantucket, Massachusetts 02554
Thursday, August 25, 1994 15:07 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During takeoff, with the airplane 'on the step,' the pilot saw a swell coming towards the airplane from the left. The pilot stated that before he could reduce the power, the airplane veered to the right. He stated aileron input did not seem to upright the airplane so he then reduced the power. He stated the airplane impacted the water on the left side of its nose and then nosed over. Post accident examination of airframe and engines did not reveal any anomalies.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN AIRCRAFT CONTROL. A FACTOR IN THE ACCIDENT WAS THE ROUGH WATER.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/25/1994
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1507
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City NANTUCKET
Event State MASSACHUSETTS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 02554
Event Date Year 1994
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Unknown
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1445 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 90
Weather Observation Facility ID ACK
Elevation of weather observation facility 48
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 2000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 15
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 22
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 16
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 210
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1326
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Aug 25 1994 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1700
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 6 2000 11:58AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N1471N
NTSB Number BFO94LA151
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name GRUMMAN
Aircraft Model G-44
Aircraft Series Identifier G-44
Aircraft Serial Number 1471N
Certified Max Gross Weight 5500
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 5
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Aug 2 1994 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 4
Airframe Hours 6176
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name STRANGE BIRD INC.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1209 ORANGE STREET
Aircraft Owner City WILMINGTON
Aircraft Owner State DE
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 19801
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name STRANGE BIRD INC
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address 1209 ORANGE ST
Operator City WILMINGTON
Operator State DE
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 19801
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
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 HTO
Departure City EAST HAMPTON
Departure State NY
Departure Country
Departure Time 0
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code HTO
Destination City
Destination State NY
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --