Royalton Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Gasport, New York 14067
Saturday, August 11, 2001 17:45 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The wind was reported as calm at an airport about 15 miles away from the departure airport. The pilot stated that at the departure airport, the windsock indicated winds from the west at 5 to 10 knots. He departed on runway 27, a 1,650-foot long, 50-foot wide, grass runway. The pilot further stated that during the initial climb, the airplane encountered light turbulence while climbing above the tree line. The airplane did not seem to climb as it normally would have. The pilot avoided the first hangar at the end of the runway by making a shallow turn to the left, but he could not avoid the second hangar. The airplane struck the second hangar and came to rest on the roof. The pilot added that there were no mechanical problems with the airplane. The second hangar was located about 75 to 100 left of the runway centerline, and set back from the first hangar that the pilot initially avoided. The second hangar was approximately 12 feet high and 50 feet wide, with a flat roof. The airplane was resting about 30 degrees nose down, into the roof of the hangar, and oriented to a heading of about 180 degrees. The engine and cockpit area forward of the wings had protruded through the hangar roof. The underside of the fuselage was buckled, but there was no apparent structural damage to the wings. Aside from the impact on the hangar roof, the airplane did not collide with any other structures. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector stated that runway 27 was maintained, and the grass was recently mowed. He added that, the airplane was within the weight and balance limitations during the takeoff.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to obtain a proper climb airspeed which resulted in an inadvertent stall and subsequent impact with a hangar.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/11/2001
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1745
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Gasport
Event State NEW YORK
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 14067
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport Royalton Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 9G5
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 628
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1754 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 220
Weather Observation Facility ID BUF
Elevation of weather observation facility 724
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 15
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 5000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
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) 27
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 16
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.04
Density Altitude (feet) 2271
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 13095
NTSB Notification Source EROC
NTSB Notification Date Aug 11 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1905
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record May 1 2003 7:34AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Rochester, NY

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6153H
NTSB Number NYC01LA208
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 Piper
Aircraft Model J3C-65
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 19319
Certified Max Gross Weight 1220
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 Jul 26 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 5
Airframe Hours 2298
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Ralph Korff
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Lockport
Aircraft Owner State NY
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 14094
Operator is an individual? No
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? --
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code 9G5
Departure City Gasport
Departure State NY
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1745
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 - initial climb
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Feb 22 2002 3:00PM
User who most recently changed record PEAR
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 27
Runway Length 1650
Runway Width 50
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --