Summary
On September 20, 2009, a Daniel L Patrick Kolb Mark (N208NS) was involved in an accident near Mystic, CT. The accident resulted in 1 minor injury. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this accident to be: The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed during final approach, resulting in an inadvertent stall. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's lack of total flight experience.
On September 20, 2009, at 1040 eastern daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Kolb Mark III Extra, N208NS, collided with the tops of trees while on final approach to Wychwood Field Airport (CT48), Mystic, Connecticut. The certificated sport pilot, who was the owner of the airplane, received minor injuries and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight was operated as a personal flight under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91, and no flight plan was filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident.
According to the pilot, he was test flying the airplane in the traffic pattern. While on final approach, with a flap setting of 20 degrees, he increased the flaps to 40 degrees.
This accident is documented in NTSB report ERA09LA531. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N208NS.
Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed during final approach, resulting in an inadvertent stall. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's lack of total flight experience.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Historical)
Analysis
On September 20, 2009, at 1040 eastern daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Kolb Mark III Extra, N208NS, collided with the tops of trees while on final approach to Wychwood Field Airport (CT48), Mystic, Connecticut. The certificated sport pilot, who was the owner of the airplane, received minor injuries and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight was operated as a personal flight under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91, and no flight plan was filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident.
According to the pilot, he was test flying the airplane in the traffic pattern. While on final approach, with a flap setting of 20 degrees, he increased the flaps to 40 degrees. At that time the airplane began to stall and he tried to increase engine power. He stated that when the airplane stalled, his airspeed was too slow and he was too low. The left wheel hit the top of some trees and then went down.
According to a Federal Aviation Administration inspector, the airplane was observed about 100 feet into the woods in a nose low attitude. The left wing spar was snapped, the tail boom was broken into two pieces, and there was impact damage to the right wing. Damage to the engine consisted of the carburetors, exhaust and engine mounts.
The airplane was certificated and issued a special airworthiness certificate on August 6, 2009. The pilot stated that he had about 4 hours in this airplane and that he was still test flying it. His total time in this make and model was approximately 9 hours and his total pilot time was about 60 hours.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# ERA09LA531