Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Adirondack, New York 12808
Wednesday, August 7, 1996 13:30 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that he was sightseeing, looking for a resort area to land. He stated that his flight was uneventful, until he initiated a climb between two mountain ranges, then he heard the stall warning horn sound. He stated that he was close to the ground, so he did not look inside the cockpit. He stated that when he added full power, the engine sounded normal, but the stall warning horn sounded a second and a third time. Also, he stated that he made a controlled stall-type landing onto the tree tops. According to an FAA safety inspector, the pilot reported that he could not see the ridge clearly due to haze. The accident site was at an approximate elevation of 2900 feet. The height of the mountain was about 3300 feet.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's improper in-flight planning/decision, which resulted in his failure to ensure that he could maintain sufficient altitude and clearance from mountainous terrain after entering a blind canyon. Haze and the terrain were related factors.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/7/1996
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1330
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City ADIRONDACK
Event State NEW YORK
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 12808
Event Date Year 1996
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 Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1245 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 180
Weather Observation Facility ID SLK
Elevation of weather observation facility 1663
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 10
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 5000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 8
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 27
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 17
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 280
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
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 2
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1976
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Aug 8 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1130
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 10:17AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N8428F
NTSB Number IAD96LA129
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Aerofab Inc.
Aircraft Model LAKE 250
Aircraft Series Identifier LAKE 250
Aircraft Serial Number 96
Certified Max Gross Weight 3140
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 6
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Feb 10 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 105
Airframe Hours 346
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Yes
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name WILLIAM M. BLACK
Aircraft Owner Street Address P.O. BOX M
Aircraft Owner City GREENFIELD
Aircraft Owner State NH
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 03047
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? No
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? 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 BTV
Departure City BURLINGTON
Departure State VT
Departure Country
Departure Time 1130
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code SLK
Destination City SARANAC LAKE
Destination State NY
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Climb
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 --