Page Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Fort Myers, Florida 33907
Sunday, April 16, 2006 15:35 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During the initial takeoff climb on the instructional flight, the airplane's pitch attitude began to increase. A constant forward pressure was necessary on the yoke to maintain control, and the use of nose down trim did not rectify the problem. The necessary forward pressure on the yoke increased. After declaring an emergency, the flight instructor made a 180-degree turn in an attempt to land back on the runway. Witnesses observed the airplane reverse course and then as it was flying over the runway, turn sharply left, enter a nose down attitude, and impact the ground. Post-accident examination of the airplane's flight control system did not reveal any anomalies. The reason for the excessive forward pressure on the yoke required to maintain control was not determined.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The flight instructor's failure to maintain airspeed while maneuvering, which resulted in an inadvertent stall. Contributing to the accident was a malfunction of the elevator control for an undetermined reason, which required excessive forward pressure on the yoke to maintain pitch control.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/16/2006
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1535
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Fort Myers
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 33907
Event Date Year 2006
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 263512N
Event Location Longitude 0815148W
Event Location Airport Page Field
Event Location Nearest Airport ID FMY
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.3
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 17
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1553 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 135
Weather Observation Facility ID FMY
Elevation of weather observation facility 17
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
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 Indefinite (V V)
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 28
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 14
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 260
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) 29.97
Density Altitude (feet) --
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 2
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 23035
NTSB Notification Source FAA Atlanta Comm Center
NTSB Notification Date Apr 16 2006 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Feb 28 2008 3:59PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Tampa FSDO-35

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N417FR
NTSB Number MIA06LA091
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 Cessna
Aircraft Model 172R
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 17280305
Certified Max Gross Weight 2550
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Mar 1 2006 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 30
Airframe Hours 5602
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Beaver Aviation South Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 605 Danley Dr.
Aircraft Owner City Fort Myers
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 33907
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code FMY
Departure City Fort Myers
Departure State FL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1530
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code FMY
Destination City Fort Myers
Destination State FL
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 30 2008 2:48PM
User who most recently changed record KENJ
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 23
Runway Length 6406
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --