Northern Lights Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Alburgh, Vermont 05440
Friday, November 2, 2007 17:00 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the pilot, he "left Franklin County State Airport (FSO) at 16:00. Flew west from FSO to practice aerobatic maneuvers. After fifteen (15) minutes of aerobatic practice [he] flew to Northern Lights airfield with [the] intention to land and observe first flight of recently assembled Steerman biplane from the air. Upon observing that the Steerman biplane was not out on the airfield ramp, [he] decided to fly west of [the] field for more aerobatic practice. After 10 minutes of aerobatic practice proper altitude diminished, and during inverted flight and while rolling to upright, [the] airplane "dished out", losing altitude and heading. As a result, [the] right wing struck tree tops and separated from [the] airplane. [The] airplane rolled and tumbled, which resulted in the left wing departing as well. [The] airplane then impacted the ground in an inverted position, bounced approximately seventy five (75) feet, impacted the ground also in an inverted position, and rolled against the tree line."

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane during aerobatic maneuvers which resulted in a loss of control and in-flight collision with trees.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/2/2007
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1700
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Alburgh
Event State VERMONT
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 05440
Event Date Year 2007
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 440814N
Event Location Longitude 0732757W
Event Location Airport Northern Lights
Event Location Nearest Airport ID VT46
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.25
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 130
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID KPLB
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
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) 13
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 340
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.98
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 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 22789
NTSB Notification Source FAA NEROC
NTSB Notification Date Nov 2 2007 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Dec 20 2007 6:59AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Portland Maine

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N58MB
NTSB Number MIA08CA011
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 Smith Miniplane
Aircraft Model DSA-1
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number MB1
Certified Max Gross Weight 1000
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 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Jun 1 2006 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 9.6
Airframe Hours 103.5
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Daniel F. Marcotte
Aircraft Owner Street Address PO Box 103
Aircraft Owner City Bakersfield
Aircraft Owner State VT
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 05441
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 FSO
Departure City Franklin County
Departure State VT
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1600
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code VT46
Destination City Alburgh
Destination State VT
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 29 2007 3:14PM
User who most recently changed record KENJ
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 --