Melbourne International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Melbourne, Florida 31901
Friday, January 10, 2003 13:05 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the pilot, the purpose of the airplane operation was to complete high speed taxi maneuvers as part of the aircraft certification requirement. However, during the high speed taxi, the pilot raised the nose of the airplane and it became airborne. The airplane climbed with a high angle of attack to approximately 100 feet. The pilot then reduced the power to idle and lowered the airplane nose. The airplane collided with the ground as the pilot attempted to recover from the inadvertent flight. No mechanical failures were reported. Examination of the airplane revealed cracks in both wings and collapsed landing gear. Aircraft maintenance logs were not recovered for examination.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadvertent liftoff and his failure to maintain airspeed which resulted in a stall.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/10/2003
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1305
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Melbourne
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 31901
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 280610N
Event Location Longitude 0803844W
Event Location Airport Melbourne International
Event Location Nearest Airport ID MLB
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
Airport Elevation 33
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1252 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID MLB
Elevation of weather observation facility 33
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 4900
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 4100
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) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 23
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 14
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 280
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 15
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 20
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.96
Density Altitude (feet) 1105
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 --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 15616
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jan 10 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1500
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 30 2004 12:15PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Orlando FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N235BW
NTSB Number ATL03LA033
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 Shaw
Aircraft Model Atlantica 235FG
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 001
Certified Max Gross Weight 2600
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 5
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Unknown
Date of Last Inspection Nov 9 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 0
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Allan G. Shaw
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1425 General Aviation Drive
Aircraft Owner City Melbourne
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 32935
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State FL
Operator Country USA
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) Flight Test
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code MLB
Departure City Melbourne
Departure State FL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Melbourne
Destination State FL
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Taxi
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Mar 10 2004 3:21PM
User who most recently changed record POWP
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 27R
Runway Length 6000
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --