Chatham Muni Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Chatham, Massachusetts 02633
Saturday, September 5, 1998 12:21 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot performed an approach to runway 24 with gusty crosswinds from the right. The airplane floated and he performed a go-around. The pilot had not retracted the flaps which were set at 2/3. A witness observed the airplane on a go-around and reported that the left wing dropped and the airplane descended into the trees. The pilot had received his private pilot certificated one month prior. His total time was 75 hours. All of his flight training was accomplished in a Cessna 172, and he had 12 hours in the accident airplane, a Grumman American AA-5B.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the failure of the pilot to maintain airspeed during a go-around and which resulted in an inadvertent stall. Factors in the accident were the pilot's lack of total experience and the gusting crosswinds.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/5/1998
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1221
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City CHATHAM
Event State MASSACHUSETTS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 02633
Event Date Year 1998
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport CHATHAM MUNI AIRPORT
Event Location Nearest Airport ID CQX
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 68
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1152 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID CQX
Elevation of weather observation facility 68
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 22
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 280
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 11
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 22
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
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) 10203
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Sep 9 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1600
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Jul 30 2001 11:11AM
User who most recently changed record MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N28764
NTSB Number NYC98LA183
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 American
Aircraft Model AA-5B
Aircraft Series Identifier AA-5B
Aircraft Serial Number 115B--797
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 Nov 12 1997 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 40
Airframe Hours 2230
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name GORDON T. WALKER
Aircraft Owner Street Address 57 MARLBOROUGH ST.
Aircraft Owner City BOSTON
Aircraft Owner State MA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 02116
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) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code CQX
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1200
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 Approach
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 24
Runway Length 3001
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --