- Date
- August 11, 1995, 18:45 local (22:45 UTC)
- Place
- Lawrenceville, GA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N94SYYothment KOLB-FIRESTAR II
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 27, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19950811023289A
- Case key
- 3611
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain flying speed. A factor was the pilot's lack of familiarity with the aircraft.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The private pilot was performing his first takeoff in this airplane. He rotated early and over rotated due to the neutral stick position being farther forward than expected. The airplane stalled and subsequently collided with the ground.
Factual narrative
On August 11, 1995, at 1845 eastern daylight time, a Yothment Kolb-Firestar II, N94SY, collided with the ground during takeoff from the Gwinnett County Airport, Lawrenceville, Georgia. The personal flight operated under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91, with no flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The private pilot was not injured and the airplane received substantial damage. The flight was originating at the time of the accident.
According to the pilot, since this was his first flight in N94SY, he was not familiar with the aircraft characteristics, and did not apply enough forward stick for the takeoff. As the aircraft climbed, the nose pitched up, and the airplane stalled. No mechanical problems with the airplane were reported.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N94SY
- Reported as
- Yothment KOLB-FIRESTAR II (KOLB-FIRES)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- FS-134
- Airframe hours
- 1
- Engine
- Kawasaki 440B, 48 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Steven Yothment
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 8, 1995 · 1 hours before
- Departed
- LZU
- Airport
- LZU · Gwinnett County, runway 7, 4,012 × 75 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 41
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 84 total · 84 as pilot in command · 5 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 170° at 3 knots, gusting 3
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 90 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LZU
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.