# Accident 19980912023689A: Cessna 170A, Millbrook, NY, September 12, 1998 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: September 12, 1998, 14:30 local time - Place: Millbrook, NY - Airport: Sky Acres Airport - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: To Init Climb(1st Pwr Reduct) - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 41.6699° N, 73.7301° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.6699&lon=-73.7301&mi=10 - Aircraft: N4709Q, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N4709Q-2013-07-30) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna 170A (registry code 2072304, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-170a) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Continental C145 series (registry code 17012, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-c145-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 170A - Reported engine: CONT O300* - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 1 - Pilot flight hours: 1,965 total - NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC98FA185](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC98FA185) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980912023689A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ACFT CRASHED IN WHAT WITNESSES REPORTED AS A STALL SPIN ATTITUDE AFTER TAKING OFF FROM RWY 17, PILOT SUFFERED FATAL INJ. (-23) ON SEPTEMBER 12, 1998 AT ABOUT 2:30 LOCAL TIME MR. ARTHUR FOLCHI, THE PILOT OF CESSNA-170A, N4709Q STARTED HIS TAKE OFF ROLL ON RWY 17 AT 44N(SKY ACRES AIRPORT, NY). SOON AFTER TAKE OFF THE AIRPLANE WAS SEEN BY WITNESSES TO INITIATE A STEEP ANGLE OF CLIMB. THE ANGLE OF CLIMB ABRUPTLY GOT STEEPER TILL THE AIRPLANE WAS ALMOST VERTICAL. THE AIRPLANE STALLED, ENTERED A SPIN TO THE RIGHT, AND DID A HALF ROLL AS IT IMPACTED THE GROUND. THE IMPACT WAS NEARLY VERTICAL. THE PILOT SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES AND EXPIRED IN THE MEDIVAC HELICOPTER ON THE WAY TO THE HOSPITAL. EXAMINATION OF THE WRECKAGE INDICATED THAT THE ENGINE WAS DEVELOPING POWER AT THE MOMENT OF IMPACT. THE SEAT WAS IN THE FORWARD POSITION BUT NOT LOCKED. FURTHER EXAMINATION SHOWED SWELLINGS ON THE SEAT TRACK WHICH CORRESPONDED TO THE SEAT POSTS AS THEY WOULD BE IF THE SEAT WAS EXPOSED TO HIGH "G" LOADS WITH A TURNING FORCE BOTH DOWNWARDS AND TO THE RIGHT. THESE SWELLINGS INDICATE THAT THE SEAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN IN THE AFT POSITION DURING IMPACT. IT APPEARS THAT DURING THE CLIMB PORTION OF THE FLIGHT, WHEN A SUSTAINED ANGLE OF CLIMB WAS MAINTAINED THE SEAT SLID BACK. THIS SUDDEN MOVEMENT OF THE SEAT PROBABLY ACCOUNTED FOR THE HIGH PULL UP IF THE PILOT WAS HOLDING ON TO THE CONTROL YOKE. THIS SUDDEN MOVEMENT CORRESPONDS WITH THE WITNESS STATEMENTS. SINCE THE STATED ALTITUDE BY THE WITNESSES WAS APPROXIMATELY 200 FEET, RECOVERY FROM THE STALL/SPIN WOULD HAVE BEEN IMPOSSIBLE. RECORDS INDICATE THAT THE PILOT HAD A CURRENT MEDICAL AS WELL AS A BIENNIAL THAT WAS DONE A YEAR AGO. OTHER ACQUAINTANCES AND FAMILY MEMBERS ALSO INDICATED THAT THE PILOT WAS VERY CAREFUL WITH HIS APPROACH TO AVIATION. THE MAINTENANCE RECORDS INDICATE THAT THE AIRPLANE WAS WITHIN COMPLIANCE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FARS. THE AUTOPSY DID NOT REVEAL ANY SIGNIFICANT CORONARY PROBLEMS FOR A MAN OF HIS AGE. (.4) DURING THE INITIAL CLIMB AFTER TAKEOFF, THE AIRPLANE WAS OBSERVED CLIMBING AT A STEEP PITCH ANGLE. THE AIRPLANE'S WINGS ROCKED BACK AND FORTH A FEW TIMES, AND THEN IT ROLLED AND DROPPED TO THE RIGHT. WITNESSES DESCRIBED THE ENGINE NOISE AS LOUD AND CONSTANT UNTIL THE POINT OF IMPACT. THE AIRPLANE CAME TO REST INVERTED IN A WOODED AREA ABOUT 1,600 FEET BEYOND THE APPRO ACH END, 110 FEET TO THE RIGHT OF, AND AT AN ELEVATION 40 FEET BELOW THE DEPARTURE RUNWAY. EXAMINATION OF THE AIRFRAME AND ENGINE DID NOT REVEAL ANY PRE-IMPACT MECHANICAL MALFUNCTIONS. ## 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 NYC98FA185](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC98FA185), Sep 12, 1998: Cessna 170A (N4709Q), Lagrangeville, NY, substantial damage, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed during the takeoff, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin. 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.