Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Henry E. Rohlsen Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Christiansted, Virgin Islands 00821
Thursday, October 29, 2009 13:31 AST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot and a passenger, a perspective flight student, completed a preflight inspection of the airplane. Another passenger subsequently approached the airplane with two heavy bags. The first passenger put the larger bag in the baggage compartment, behind the rear seat. The second passenger then walked around the airplane and sat in the back seat with the smaller bag. During the takeoff, witnesses stated that the airplane appeared slow, with a nose-high pitch attitude, and an immediate dip of the right wing. They recalled the initial climb out was also low and slow. The tower controller asked the pilot if he was experiencing any difficulty, and the pilot responded that he was, and was going to turn back to the airport. A witness noted that the airplane appeared to be having difficulty gaining altitude, that the wings were moving up and down, and that the propeller was spinning. The airplane then made a sudden, sharp left turn and descended to the ground. A postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of preimpact mechanical anomalies. Damage was consistent with a left-turning stall/spin at impact. The airplane's observed nose-high attitude, and pitch trim found in the full nose-down position, indicated the likelihood that the airplane was loaded with an aft center of gravity.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/29/2009 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1331 |
| Event Time Zone | Atlantic Standard Time |
| Event City | Christiansted |
| Event State | VIRGIN ISLANDS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 00821 |
| Event Date Year | 2009 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 174308N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0644729w |
| Event Location Airport | Henry E. Rohlsen |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | TISX |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 2 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 74 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1331 Atlantic Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 120 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | TISX |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 74 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 2 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | AST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 2300 |
| 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) | 31 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 23 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 70 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 14 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 20 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.89 |
| 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 | 3 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 3 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 28211 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Southern 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 | Apr 11 2011 1:30PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N3431T |
| NTSB Number | ERA10FA037 |
| 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 | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | Ground |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | CESSNA |
| Aircraft Model | 177 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 17700731 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2800 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | -- |
| Flight Crew Seats | 1 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | 3 |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Apr 15 2009 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 3278 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | AVIP LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 1680 COUNTY ROAD 2993 |
| Aircraft Owner City | HUGHES SPRINGS |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 75656-6160 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | David S. Bentley |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Christiansted |
| Operator State | VI |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 00821 |
| 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 | TISX |
| Departure City | Christiansted |
| Departure State | VI |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1328 |
| Departure Time Zone | AST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | TIST |
| Destination City | Charlotte Amali |
| Destination State | VI |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 11 2011 1:30PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 10 |
| Runway Length | 10004 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |