None Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Bath, Pennsylvania 18014
Thursday, June 23, 2005 16:13 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot owner completed a preflight inspection of his unregistered, homebuilt airplane, and departed from the airstrip. The rotation and takeoff were at their customary points on the strip, and the airplane climbed on a "normal gradient." About 400 feet above ground level, the engine "burbled," and then the airplane "rocked a little" in the pitch and roll axis. The engine continued the burbling sound as it ran, and the airplane continued flying for 10 to 12 seconds before it "fell off on the left wing," descending almost vertically to the ground. Examination of the two-cylinder engine revealed that the forward spark plug of the rear cylinder was still attached to its ignition lead, but the plug was not installed, and hung next to the cylinder. The spark plug remained completely intact. Examination of the corresponding cast aluminum spark plug hole revealed stripped threads. The plug was reinserted into the hole, moved "side to side," and then withdrawn from the hole by hand. The pilot held a private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single engine land. His most recent application for a medical certificate was denied 16 years before the accident for "Administrative or Legal" reasons. The pilot reported 110 hours of total flight experience on that date.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot/owner's failure to maintain adequate airspeed following a loss of engine power, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin. Factors in the accident were the stripped spark plug threads, and an inadequate preflight inspection by the pilot/owner.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/23/2005
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1613
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Bath
Event State PENNSYLVANIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 18014
Event Date Year 2005
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 404428N
Event Location Longitude 0752431W
Event Location Airport None
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
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 --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1551 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 240
Weather Observation Facility ID ABE
Elevation of weather observation facility 394
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 6
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 5500
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) 31
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 16
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 200
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.11
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KABE 241951Z 20010KT 10SM SCT055 31/16 A3011
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) 19528
NTSB Notification Source FAA Allentown, PA FSDO
NTSB Notification Date Jun 23 2005 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 25 2006 11:00AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Allentown, PA

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number None
NTSB Number IAD05LA083
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 Titan
Aircraft Model Tornado
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number T00503S0HK0375
Certified Max Gross Weight --
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
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 200
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Elmer P. Bergsman
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Catasaqua
Aircraft Owner State PA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 18032
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 NONE
Departure City Moore Township
Departure State NJ
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1610
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code NONE
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 30 2006 6:02PM
User who most recently changed record MUZD
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --