# Accident 19970419006059A: Amtr MERLIN, Fort Myers, FL, April 19, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 19, 1997, 12:00 local time
- Place: Fort Myers, FL
- Airport: Pine Shadows Airpark Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Forced/Precautionary Landing
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 26.7408° N, 81.8390° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=26.7408&lon=-81.8390&mi=10
- Aircraft: N2100S, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2100S-1997-09-20) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Young Stephen MERLIN GT (registry code 05626FV, https://openairdocs.org/model/young-stephen-merlin-gt) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AMTR MERLIN
- Reported engine: ROTAX ROTAX582
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 7,000 total, 100 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA97LA141](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA97LA141) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970419006059A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

STALLED AND SPUN IN ON CLIMBOUT. UNDEPOWERED ON FLOATS AND TWO PERSON ON BOARD. ALSO OPEN DOOR DRAG. PILOT UNAWARE. (-23) BASED ON GATHERED EVIDENCE AND THE PASSENGER'S TESTIMONY, STRONGLY SUGGEST THAT THE AIRCRAFT CRASHED AS A RESULT OF A DEPARTURE STALL/SPIN.  A POST-ACCIDENT ENGINE RUN TEST CONDUCTED ON MAY 5, 1997, SHOWED THAT THE ENGINE WAS OPERATING NORMALLY.  A TELEPHONE INTERVIEW ON MAY 7, 1997, WITH THE PASSENGER REVEALED THAT THE AIRCRAFT STALLED AND SPUN TO THE LEFT DURING ITS DEPARTURE CLIMB FROM PINE SHADOWES AIR PARK'S RUNWAY 9 INTERSECTION. THE PASSENGER ALSO STATED THAT THE CLIMB WAS SLOW AND SHALLOW UNTIL REACHING APPROXIMATELY 200 FEET OF ELEVATION, AT WHICH TIME HE NOTICED THE PILOT ATTEMPTING TO INCREASE ENGINE POWER BY OPERATING THE THROTTLES BACK AND FORTH, BUT TO NO AVAIL. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE LEFT WING AND NOSE DIPPED STRAIGHT DOWN AND CRASHED STRAIGHT DOWN.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB MIA97LA141](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA97LA141), Apr 19, 1997: Young Merlin GT (N2100S), Fort Myers, FL, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: the pilot's failure to maintain airspeed during the initial climb after takeoff, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin and subsequent collision with the terrain. Factors relating to the…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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