Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Chalet Suzanne Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Lake Wales, Florida 33898
Friday, April 24, 2009 13:05 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot departed on Runway 18 in a special light sport airplane with his grandson onboard. The turf runway was 2,313 feet long by 50 feet wide, and sloped down toward the middle, with sandy, soft soil. The recorded wind at an airport located 9 miles west of the accident airport, about the time of the accident, was from 150 degrees at 4 knots. The airplane weighed about 1,250 pounds at the time of departure, less than the maximum gross weight of 1,320 pounds. A witness stated that the pilot attempted to rotate and climb, but did not lower the airplane’s pitch attitude to gain airspeed in ground effect. The airplane contacted the ground once, about 1,600 feet, and again about 2,500 feet from the point of initial takeoff. According to the witness, the pilot continued his takeoff roll and wallowed in ground effect. The right wing of the airplane impacted a tree approximately 15 feet above ground level and the airplane came to rest inverted. A postcrash fire subsequently consumed the airplane. The pilot also reported that the engine was operating properly and that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions. When asked how this accident could have been prevented, the pilot stated that he should have aborted the takeoff when he initially touched down on the soft soil.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot’s failure to maintain aircraft control and failure to maintain clearance from trees during initial climb.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 4/24/2009 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1305 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Lake Wales |
| Event State | FLORIDA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 33898 |
| Event Date Year | 2009 |
| Event Date Month | 4 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 275710N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0813604W |
| Event Location Airport | Chalet Suzanne |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | X25 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 130 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1250 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 270 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | BOW |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 125 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 9 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 6000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 12 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 28 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 13 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 150 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 4 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.28 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 25536 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Southern Region C-ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 20 2009 12:09PM |
| User who most recently changed record | johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N122LS |
| NTSB Number | ERA09CA262 |
| 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 | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | TECNAM |
| Aircraft Model | P2002 Sierra |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | 200 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 07-06-06 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1320 |
| 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 | Apr 6 2009 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 17 |
| Airframe Hours | 69 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | PLG Aviation Inc |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | University Park |
| Aircraft Owner State | FL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 34201 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | PLG Aviation Inc |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | University Park |
| Operator State | FL |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 34201 |
| 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 | X25 |
| Departure City | Lake Wales |
| Departure State | FL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1305 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | SRQ |
| Destination City | Sarasota |
| Destination State | FL |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 3 2009 2:43PM |
| User who most recently changed record | grer |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 18 |
| Runway Length | 2313 |
| Runway Width | 50 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |