# Accident 19980718028429A: Gulstm AA1A, Madison, CT, July 18, 1998 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: July 18, 1998, 13:30 local time - Place: Madison, CT - Airport: Griswold Airport - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Go Round (Aborted VFR) - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 41.2712° N, 72.5497° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at Griswold Airport, closed, within about a mile (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.2712&lon=-72.5497&mi=10 - Aircraft: N9418L, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N9418L-2000-03-21) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: American AA-1A (registry code 0630710, https://openairdocs.org/model/american-aa-1a) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: GULSTM AA1A - Reported engine: LYC O320A1A - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 600 total, 30 in this make and model, 30 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC98LA144](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC98LA144) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980718028429A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (.4) ON JULY 18, 1998, ABOUT 1330 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME, AN AMERICAN AA-1A, N9418L, WAS DESTROYED DURING AN ABORTED LANDING AT THE GRISWOLD AIRPORT, MADISON, CONNECTICUT. THE CERTIFICATED PRIVATE PILOT RECEIVED MINOR INJURIES. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE PERSONAL FLIGHT THAT ORIGINATED FROM BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, ABOUT 1300. NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED FOR THE FLIGHT THAT WAS CONDUCTED UNDER 14 CFR PART 91. IN A WRITTEN STATEMENT, THE PILOT REPORTED THAT HE LANDED ON RUNWAY 6 BEHIND TWO PRECEDING AIRPLANES. JUST AS HE WAS ABOUT TO LAND ON THE RUNWAY, THE WIND CHANGED TO A TAIL WIND AND PUSHED HIM DOWN ON THE RUNWAY WHICH CAUSED THE AIRPLANE TO BOUNCE. HE THEN ADDED POWER TO DO A GO-AROUND. ACCORDING TO WINTESSES, THE WIND HAD BEEN FROM 360 DEGREES, WITH A VELOCITY OF ABOUT 15 KNOTS. JUST AS N9418L TOUCHED DOWN, THE WIND SHIFTED FROM 360 DEGREES, TO 240 DEGREES, WITH ABOUT THE SAME VELOCITY. THE AIRPLANE WAS OBSERVED TO BOUNCE AS IT TOUCHED DOWN, AND THEN AN INCREASE OF POWER FROM THE ENGINE WAS HEARD. THE AIRPLANE DRIFTED OFF THE RUNWAY TO THE RIGHT AND STRUCK SOME TREES, AFTER WHICH IT CAME TO REST INVERTED IN A SWAMPY AREA. ACCORDING TO DATA FROM THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA), RUNWAY 6 WAS 1,863 FEET LONG, 50 FEET WIDE, AND HAD AN ASPHALT SURFACE. (-23) ACCORDING TO THE PILOT ERNEST COSTA AND SEVERAL WITNESSES, THE WIND HAD BEEN OUT OF THE NORTHWEST AT 10-15 MPH; AS THE AIRCRAFT WAS LANDING THE WINDS SHIFTED TO THE SOUTHWEST. THE PILOT STATED THAT UPON TOUCHING DOWN THE TAIL WIND PUSHED HIM CAUSING THE AIRCRAFT TO BOUNCE. HE APPLIED POWER TO GO-AROUND AND BEGAN TO DRIFT TO THE RIGHT. THE RIGHT WING STRUCK TWO TREES 135 & 151 FT FROM THE CENTERLINE OF THE RUNWAY AS MEASURED BY POLICE RADAR, JUST BEYOND THE CENTER MARK OF THE RUNWAY. THE AIRCRAFT STALLED AND DESCENDED INTO 10 FT TALL REEDS AND MARSH. ON IMPACT WITH THE MARSH THE NOSE GEAR SEPARATED FROM THE AIRCRAFT. THE AIRCRAFT THEN NOSED OVER ON THE EDGE OF THE REEDS INTO THE MARSH. (.19) ON JULY 18, 1998, ABOUT 1315 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME, AN AMERICAN AA-1A, N9418L, WAS DESTROYED DURING AN ABORTED LANDING AT THE GRISWOLD AIRPORT, MADISON, CONNECTICUT. THE CERTIFICATED PRIVATE PILOT RECEIVED MINOR INJURIES. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE PERSONAL FLIGHT THAT ORIGINATED FROM BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, ABOUT 1300. NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED FOR THE FLIGHT THAT WAS CONDUCTED UNDER 14 CFR PART 91. IN A WRITTEN STATEMENT, THE PILOT REPORTED THAT HE LANDED ON RUNWAY 6 BEHIND TWO PRECEDING AIRPLANES. JUST AS HE WAS ABOUT TO LAND ON THE RUNWAY, THE WIND CHANGED TO A TAIL WIND AND PUSHED HIM DOWN ON THE RUNWAY WHICH CAUSED THE AIRPLANE TO BOUNCE. HE THEN ADDED POWER TO DO A GO-AROUND. ACCORDING TO WITNESSES, THE WIND HAD BEEN FROM 360 DEGREES, WITH A VELOCITY OF ABOUT 15 KNOTS. JUST AS N9418L TOUCHED DOWN, THE WIND SHIFTED FROM 360 DEGREES, TO 240 DEGREES, WITH ABOUT THE SAME VELOCITY. THE AIRPLANE WAS OBSERVED TO BOUNCE AS IT TOUCHED DOWN, AND THEN AN INCREASE OF POWER FROM THE ENGINE WAS HEARD. THE AIRPLANE DRIFTED OFF THE RUNWAY TO THE RIGHT AND STRUCK SOME TREES, AFTER WHICH IT CAME TO REST INVERTED IN A SWAMPY AREA. ACCORDING TO DATA FROM THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA), RUNWAY 6 WAS 1,863 FEET LONG, 50 FEET WIDE, AND HAD AN ASPHALT SURFACE. AN INSPECTOR FROM THE FAA REPORTED THAT THE PILOT HAD A TOTAL FLIGHT TIME OF ABOUT 650 HOURS WITH 30 HOURS IN THEAA-1A. ## 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 NYC98LA144](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC98LA144), Jul 18, 1998: American AA-1A (N9418L), Madison, CT, destroyed. Probable cause: Was the failure of the pilot to maintain directional control of the airplane during an aborted landing. A factor was the winds which were variable and gusty. 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.