Alexander Hamilton Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

St. Croix
Saturday, October 26, 1996 9:59 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The purpose of the flight was to take CAP cadets on an orientation flight around the local area, and return to the airport. Witnesses observed the airplane taxi to runway 9, proceed onto the runway without performing a run-up, and take off. The captain of a regional airline, which departed after the Cessna, said the Cessna climbed to an altitude of about 900 feet then turned sharply to the left, followed by a sharp turn to the right. The captain said the airplane went into a 'steep' right spiral, and impacted the ground with no forward movement. In addition, the captain said that the wind was down the runway, it was a clear day, and it was not unusually turbulent. Most of the witnesses that saw the accident gave similar accounts.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's failure to maintain airspeed.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/26/1996
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 959
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City ST. CROIX
Event State VIRGIN ISLANDS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 00823
Event Date Year 1996
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport ALEXANDER HAMILTON
Event Location Nearest Airport ID STX
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 80
Airport Elevation 61
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1002 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 270
Weather Observation Facility ID STX
Elevation of weather observation facility 61
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 7000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 2900
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
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) 29
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 23
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 50
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 12
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 Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal 3
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 3
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1704
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Oct 26 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1200
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 10:25AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N9818L
NTSB Number MIA97FA013
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 Cessna
Aircraft Model 172P
Aircraft Series Identifier 172P
Aircraft Serial Number 17276620
Certified Max Gross Weight 2400
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Oct 21 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 4
Airframe Hours 1766
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name CIVIL AIR PATROL
Aircraft Owner Street Address MAXWELL AFB
Aircraft Owner City MONTGOMERY
Aircraft Owner State AL
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 36112
Operator is an individual? --
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? 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) Other Work Use
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code STX
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 959
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 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 9
Runway Length 7620
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --