- Date
- February 1, 1992, 08:40 local (15:40 UTC)
- Place
- Englewood, CO
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N689WWarfield BD-4
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 11, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920201001509A
- Case key
- 18193
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
Improper vr speed used, causing an inadvertent stall/mush. A factor was: the pilot's lack of total experience in aircraft make and model.
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
This was the first flight for the amateur homebuilt airplane. The pilot was seen to use about 6975 feet of the 10,001 foot runway before lifting off. The pilot said he rotated and climbed out at 67 mph. The airplane drifted to the right and the right wing dropped. The pilot attempted to 'mush' the airplane onto the ground. Tower controllers said the airplane lifted off in an extreme nose high attitude and appeared to stall. Pilots familiar with the airplane said the airplane should have been rotated between 80-85 mph IAS.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N689W
- Reported as
- Warfield BD-4
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 689
- Airframe hours
- 8
- Engine
- Ford V-6/3.8 LITRE, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Part 91
- Operator
- Warfield, Robert W.
- Registered owner
- Warfield, Robert W.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 15, 1991 · 8 hours before
- Airport
- APA · Centennial, runway 17, 10,001 × 100 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
- 63
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 464 total · 417 as pilot in command · 2 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 130° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 37 °F, dew point 27 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.