- Date
- September 28, 1995, 17:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Youngstown, OH
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N122DPDeangelo Kitfox Speedster
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 29, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19950928030839A
- Case key
- 9085
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 directional control of the airplane during the takeoff roll. A related factor was the pilot's lack of familiarity with the aircraft while carrying a passenger.
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 pilot reported that he had just '...completed my 40 hours of solo time...' and was making his first flight with a passenger when the accident occurred. The pilot stated that he '...began the take off roll [and] the plane started to go slightly left. I apparently over controlled [the airplane and] the plane ground looped.... ' The pilot stated that his unfamiliarity with the 'possible quirks' of the airplane, and the additional weight in the airplane may have been factors in this accident.
Factual narrative
On September 28, 1995, at 1730 eastern daylight time, a DeAngelo Kitfox Speedster, N122DP, piloted by the owner/operator, sustained substantial damage when it veered off the left side of runway 28 during the takeoff roll at Youngstown Elser Metro Airport, in Youngstown, Ohio. The pilot and one passenger, the sole occupants, reported no injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local flight, no flight plan was filed. The flight operated under 14 CFR Part 91.
The pilot stated that, on the morning of the flight he had just completed his "...40 hours of solo time..." and he was taking his first passenger for a ride. The pilot reported that, "...as I began the takeoff roll the plane started to go slightly left." The pilot remarked that, he "...apparently over controlled [and] the plane ground looped... ." The pilot stated that the winds were calm, and that the "...entire 'flight' took approximately 5 to 10 seconds."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N122DP
- Reported as
- Deangelo Kitfox Speedster (KITFOX SPE)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- FBS-024
- Airframe hours
- 40
- Engine
- Rotax 912 UL, 78 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Deangelo, Dante A.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- 4G4
- Airport
- 4G4 · Youngstown Elser Metro, runway 28, 3,703 × 50 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
- 64
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,300 total · 40 in this make and model · 1,083 as pilot in command · 41 in the last 90 days · 17 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.