# NTSB CEN12LA448: Chapman Mark A Trike, N404EA, Marlboro, OH, July 17, 2012 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: July 17, 2012, 09:30 local (13:30 UTC) - Place: Marlboro, OH - Coordinates: 40.943889, -81.238891 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.9439&lon=-81.2389&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Takeoff](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/300) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Takeoff: Aerodynamic stall/spin](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241) - Highest injury: Serious injuries - Injuries: 1 serious - Status: Completed, report June 12, 2013 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: FAA - NTSB case key (mKey): 84348 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN12LA448 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/84348/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=84348 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN12LA448 ## Probable cause The student pilot’s failure to maintain adequate airspeed during a turn, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Personnel issues](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02060000): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Chapman Mark A TRIKE, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02060000/cases.md?model=059023Z), [All aircraft, 137 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02060000/cases.md) - [Performance/control parameters: airspeed](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062010): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [Chapman Mark A TRIKE, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062010/cases.md?model=059023Z), [All aircraft, 1,681 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062010/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Takeoff: Aerodynamic stall/spin](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241) (defining event); cases with it: [Chapman Mark A TRIKE, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241/sequence.md?model=059023Z), [All aircraft, 1,529 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241/sequence.md) ## Analysis After takeoff, witnesses saw the trike airplane turn left and pitch up to a steep nose-high attitude before the right wing dropped and the airplane descended to the ground. The descriptions of the accident were consistent with an aerodynamic stall. An examination of the wreckage did not detect any preimpact anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The student pilot did not have a logbook, and, in a postaccident interview, he revealed that he had little experience and flight time in the airplane. ## Factual narrative On July 17, 2012, about 0930 eastern daylight time, an experimental kit-built trike airplane, N404EA, collided with terrain near the Sunset Strip Airport (OH07), Marlboro, Ohio. The solo student pilot was seriously injured. The airplane’s wing and fuselage were substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to and operated by a private individual under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight that operated without a flight plan. The local flight was originating at the time of the accident. According to the responding Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspectors, the airplane had performed several high speed taxis and then departed OH07. A witness interviewed by the FAA reported that when the airplane about 50 to 100 feet above the ground, the airplane turned left, pitched up to a steep nose high attitude, the right wing dropped, and the airplane descended to the ground. An examination of the wreckage conducted by the FAA did not detect any preimpact anomalies. The student pilot did not maintain a logbook and his flight experience could not be determined. Additionally the amount, if any, of flight instruction the student pilot had received was not determined. However, FAA records revealed that the student pilot had been issued a student pilot certificate on June 5, 2012. The student pilot had not submitted a NTSB Form 6120 prior to the completion of this report. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N404EA](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N404EA-2020-02-28), registration cancelled 2020-02-28, S/N 0001, built 2007 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CHAPMAN MARK A TRIKE - Registry model: [Chapman Mark A TRIKE](https://openairdocs.org/model/chapman-mark-a-trike) (registry code 059023Z) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Rotax 503UL](https://openairdocs.org/engine/rotax-503ul) (registry code 55565, 2 cycle) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 0001 - Airframe hours: 43 - Engines: ROTAX 503UL 52 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Chapman Mark A - Registered owner: Chapman Mark A - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Departed: OH07, Marboro, OH - Destination: OH07, Marboro, OH - Airport: OH07, Sunset Strip Airport ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Student pilot; age 59; injuries: serious; student ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 260° at 8 knots - Visibility: 8 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 25,000 ft broken - Temperature: 84 °F, dew point 66 °F - Altimeter: 29.94 inHg - Observed at: KCAK, 9 nm away ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20120717014309A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20120717014309A), Jul 17, 2012: Chapman Mark A TRIKE, Marlboro, OH, Destroyed. [privacy data omitted] Has little to no flight experience and with the handling characteristics of the aircraft, all signs point to [privacy data omitted] not… ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 23, 2013, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=84348. 4.7 MB in all. - Photo 1: Wreckage overview (FAA photo) (item 1, .PDF, 4.6 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40389018&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%201%3A%20Wreckage%20overview%20(FAA%20photo)-Master.PDF - Correspondence with FAA inspector (item 2, .PDF, 50 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40389019&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Correspondence%20with%20FAA%20inspector-Master.PDF 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. --- 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.