Sterling Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Sterling, Massachusetts 01564
Friday, August 8, 2008 14:30 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

At its home airport, a Boeing E75 was purposely landed in the grass adjacent to the runway. The airplane touched down hard, the left main landing gear strut separated from the airplane, the right main landing gear strut bent, the propeller struck the ground, and the lower left wing spar broke. Their were no injuries to the owner/pilot who was flying the airplane from the rear cockpit, or his friend, who according to the owner, was acting as pilot-in-command since his flight review was "expired."

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The owner/pilot's improper flare. Contributing to the accident was the pilot-in-command's inadequate remedial action.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/8/2008
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1430
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Sterling
Event State MASSACHUSETTS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 01564
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 422533N
Event Location Longitude 0714734W
Event Location Airport Sterling Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 3B3
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 459
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1452 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 360
Weather Observation Facility ID FIT
Elevation of weather observation facility 348
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 8
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 9000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
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) 25
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 14
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.64
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 24332
NTSB Notification Source FAA Eastern ROC
NTSB Notification Date Aug 10 2008 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 26 2008 6:40PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\lema
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Windsor Locks, CT

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4923N
NTSB Number NYC08CA274
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 Boeing
Aircraft Model E75
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 75-8216
Certified Max Gross Weight 3200
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jul 1 2008 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 6456.4
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Joseph Innamorati
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Clinton
Aircraft Owner State MA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 01510
Operator is an individual? Yes
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 Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code 3B3
Departure City Sterling
Departure State MA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1330
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code 3B3
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Sep 14 2008 2:52PM
User who most recently changed record MUZD
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 34
Runway Length 3086
Runway Width 40
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --