Lakewood Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Jackson, New Jersey 08527
Saturday, July 20, 2002 13:45 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was observed flying "kind of low" before it spiraled "straight down." It completed three rotations before impacting trees. Post-accident examination revealed no mechanical anomalies. The pilot's operating handbook stated that due to the many variables that affect spin recovery, and the lack of control over those variables, intentional spins were prohibited.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin and subsequent impact with terrain.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/20/2002
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1345
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Jackson
Event State NEW JERSEY
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 08527
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 400308N
Event Location Longitude 0741600W
Event Location Airport Lakewood airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID N12
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 4
Degrees magnetic from airport 270
Airport Elevation 43
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1355 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 70
Weather Observation Facility ID WRI
Elevation of weather observation facility 133
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 17
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 20000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 5000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 6
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 28
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 18
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 340
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.98
Density Altitude (feet) 1596
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
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) 14276
NTSB Notification Source EROC
NTSB Notification Date Jul 20 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1415
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Nov 25 2003 11:36AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Philadelphia FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N79CW
NTSB Number IAD02FA074
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Wehrlen
Aircraft Model Glassair II RG
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 1
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 180
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection May 1 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 11
Airframe Hours 249.4
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Russell Terhune
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Middletown
Aircraft Owner State NJ
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 07748
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 No
Departure Airport Code N12
Departure City Lakewood
Departure State NJ
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1245
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code N12
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Aug 18 2003 7:36PM
User who most recently changed record COXP
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --