Danielson Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Brooklyn, Connecticut 06234
Friday, December 4, 1998 13:45 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The student pilot, formerly commercial-rated, took off, maintained a level flight attitude for about 5 seconds, then put the airplane into a steep climb. A witness then heard the engine 'cut out' and saw the airplane in a steep left bank, rapidly losing altitude. During the descent, the witness heard several backfires. The airplane leveled its wings, but continued a 25-degree descent as it disappeared below a tree line. It crashed into a shallow river, next to which, was a large field. The empennage stuck out of the water at a 40-degree angle, and was buckled on the right side. There was a strong smell of auto gas, though the airplane had no STC for its use. One propeller blade was embedded in the riverbed, with scratches emanating from the leading edge at varying angles. The other propeller blade exhibited S-bending , severe leading edge pitting, and chordwise and lengthwise scratching. Examination of the engine did not disclose evidence of mechanical malfunction. The student pilot's commercial license was permanently revoked in 1996, after he was observed flying during a suspension. He had about 10 hours of flight time since starting to fly again, about a week earlier.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The student pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane, resulting in an inadvertent stall/spin.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/4/1998
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1345
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City BROOKLYN
Event State CONNECTICUT
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 06234
Event Date Year 1998
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport DANIELSON AIRPORT
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 5B3
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport 220
Airport Elevation 238
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1252 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 265
Weather Observation Facility ID IJD
Elevation of weather observation facility 247
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 14
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) 21
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 8
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 280
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 20
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
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 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1209
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Dec 4 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1430
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2000 11:56AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6166L
NTSB Number NYC99FA033
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 Gulfstream American
Aircraft Model AA-1
Aircraft Series Identifier AA-1
Aircraft Serial Number AA1-0366
Certified Max Gross Weight 1465
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Nov 24 1998 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 10
Airframe Hours 1217
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name ROBERT GIAMBATTISTA
Aircraft Owner Street Address 145 TATNIC ROAD, BOX 871
Aircraft Owner City BROOKLYN
Aircraft Owner State CT
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 06234
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 No
Departure Airport Code 5B3
Departure City DANIELSON
Departure State CT
Departure Country
Departure Time 1345
Departure Time Zone EST
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 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 31
Runway Length 2700
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --