C4C Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Charleston, New York 12166
Friday, July 27, 2001 17:33 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

While en route to his destination airport, the pilot diverted to a private airport owned by a friend of his. According to witnesses, the pilot performed several "flybys" at the airport. One witness stated that during the pilot's last pass, the airplane was "coming back down so steep and so fast I knew he was not going to make it." The airplane impacted trees short of the runway. The pilot's last memory of the flight was en route to his original destination airport. Examination of the airplane revealed no mechanical deficiencies. The pilot reported 1,000 hours of total flight time on his most recent FAA third-class medical issued on June 28, 2001.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane while maneuvering, which resulted in a collision with trees.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/27/2001
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1733
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Charleston
Event State NEW YORK
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 12166
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 424938N
Event Location Longitude 0742414W
Event Location Airport C4C Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 3NY0
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 1110
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1651 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 90
Weather Observation Facility ID ALB
Elevation of weather observation facility 285
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 26
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 23
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 9
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 10
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.23
Density Altitude (feet) 935
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 13369
NTSB Notification Source EROC
NTSB Notification Date Jul 27 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1845
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record May 13 2003 12:26PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Albany FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N92SB
NTSB Number IAD01LA087
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Charles
Aircraft Model Lancair 320
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 347
Certified Max Gross Weight 1685
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
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 Unknown
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name John Eichar
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Camarillo
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 93012
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name David Newell Beede
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Stamford
Operator State CT
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 06902
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 PEO
Departure City Penn Yan
Departure State NY
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code 1B1
Destination City Hudson
Destination State NY
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record May 20 2002 9:24AM
User who most recently changed record PEAR
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 270
Runway Length 1400
Runway Width 50
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --