Tampa North Aero Park Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Tampa, Florida 33549
Thursday, September 25, 2008 12:03 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to a witness, a slight gust of wind came across the airfield during takeoff. He stated that the airplane was two to three feet off the ground when the left wing dipped, hit the runway, and caused the airplane to cartwheel several times. According to an Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) mechanic, the pilot was anxious to take his aircraft so he started adjusting the tension on the flying wire cables himself. The cables on the left wing remained loose even after adjusting the turnbuckles. The A&P recommended to the pilot that the cables be cut and re-swaged to which the pilot declined. On the day of the accident, the pilot taxied his airplane away from A&P’s property, without having any of the discrepancies corrected. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector found that the pilot preferred to do his own maintenance, and that an annual inspection was not completed on the airplane. He found that the left wing's flying wires were not attached properly to the main frame, which was evidenced by the oblong fitting coupled with the bare metal on the main frame bracket showing that the assembly pulled apart from the fuselage before or just prior to takeoff.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot’s failure to maintain control of the airplane during takeoff due to inadequate maintenance.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/25/2008
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1203
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Tampa
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 33549
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 281310N
Event Location Longitude 0822217W
Event Location Airport Tampa North Aero Park
Event Location Nearest Airport ID X39
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 68
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1217 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 180
Weather Observation Facility ID VDF
Elevation of weather observation facility 22
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 12
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 None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 27
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 17
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 350
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.95
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) 24731
NTSB Notification Source FAA Souther Region ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Dec 5 2008 1:40PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N716HJ
NTSB Number MIA08CA201
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed Unknown
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cox Clyde H
Aircraft Model Fshr Aero Vsns Clbty
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number AV 1033
Certified Max Gross Weight 1230
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats 1
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats 1
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Jun 15 1999 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 1
Airframe Hours 6.61
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type C91
Aircraft Owner Name Robert A. Erickson
Aircraft Owner Street Address 4631 Birdsong Blve
Aircraft Owner City Lutz
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 33559
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name Robert A. Erickson
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address 4631 Birdsong Blve
Operator City Lutz
Operator State FL
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 33559
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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 X39
Departure City Tampa
Departure State FL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1203
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code X39
Destination City Tampa
Destination State FL
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Dec 5 2008 1:40PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 32
Runway Length 3541
Runway Width 50
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --