Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Schenectedy County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Schenectady, New York 12008
Tuesady, September 23, 2008 15:01 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The owner of the amateur built, automotive-engine-powered airplane decided he lacked the experience in tailwheel-equipped airplanes to perform a maintenance flight, and arranged for another pilot to fly the airplane after resolving a rough running engine issue. A review of video footage of the flight revealed that after capturing the takeoff and initial climb, the videographer announced "he's close to a stall," and lowered the camera. The descent and impact were not captured, but the sound of the engine was recorded. Review of the audio track of the video revealed smooth, continuous engine sound until the sounds of impact. According to one witness, the tailwheel was raised almost immediately, and the airplane was airborne after a brief ground roll. The climb was "poor" and the airplane’s altitude above the ground reached only 200 feet, after a 4,000 foot-long initial climb. He said, "The [pitch] attitude of the aircraft was quite high and seemed close to a stall condition." He added that the engine did not "falter" or change power/rpm throughout his observation of the flight. Examination of the wreckage by Federal Aviation Administration aviation safety inspectors revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical anomalies.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the initial climb, which led to an aerodynamic stall.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 9/23/2008 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1501 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Schenectady |
| Event State | NEW YORK |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 12008 |
| Event Date Year | 2008 |
| Event Date Month | 9 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 425105N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0735526W |
| Event Location Airport | Schenectedy County Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | SCH |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 1 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 378 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1451 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 150 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | ALB |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 285 |
| 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 | 7500 |
| 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) | 19 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 6 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Variable |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 4 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.47 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| 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) | 25786 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Eastern 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 | Aug 18 2009 10:06AM |
| User who most recently changed record | johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N51WW |
| NTSB Number | NYC08LA322 |
| 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 | NAGEL |
| Aircraft Model | SAL 2/3 P51 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 1 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2180 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | Yes |
| Flight Crew Seats | 2 |
| 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 | Conditional |
| Date of Last Inspection | Feb 10 2008 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 4 |
| Airframe Hours | 16 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Northeastern Aero Classics LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Glenmont |
| Aircraft Owner State | NY |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 12077 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Northeastern Aero Classics LLC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Glenmont |
| Operator State | NY |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 12077 |
| 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 | SCH |
| Departure City | Schenectady |
| Departure State | NY |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1500 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | SCH |
| Destination City | Schenectady |
| Destination State | NY |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 16 2009 9:51PM |
| User who most recently changed record | grer |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 04 |
| Runway Length | 7000 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |