# NTSB DFW05LA187: Yakovlev Yak 52, N2331C, Claremore, OK, July 23, 2005 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: July 23, 2005, 13:26 local (18:26 UTC) - Place: Claremore, OK - Coordinates: 36.288887, -95.474441 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.2889&lon=-95.4744&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Takeoff](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/300) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 1 fatal - Status: Completed, report December 20, 2005 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FAA/FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 62031 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=DFW05LA187 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/62031/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DFW05LA187 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to obtain adequate airspeed while executing a low altitude aerobatic maneuver, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall while inverted. A factor was the low altitude. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - in flight, takeoff - airspeed - not obtained, pilot in command (cause) - altitude - low, pilot in command (contributing factor) - aerobatics - performed, pilot in command (contributing factor) - stall - inadvertent, pilot in command - In flight collision with terrain/water, takeoff - terrain condition - runway ## Analysis The 1,700-hour pilot was performing a low-altitude aerobatic maneuver on takeoff as part of an air show routine. A witness, who was hired to professionally videotape the airshow and was familiar with the pilot's flight routine said, the initial takeoff roll and rotation were normal, but the airplane was slower than usual. When the pilot rolled inverted the pitch angle was higher than normal and the typical gain in airspeed did not occur. The airplane's right wing was low as pitch angle increased, and the elevator was in the full down position. The witness said it looked as if the airplane was in an "inverted stall situation." The airplane subsequently descended into the runway inverted and a post-impact fire ensued. ## Factual narrative On July 23, 2004, at 1326 central daylight time, a Russian manufactured Yakovlev Yak 52 single-engine experimental airplane, N2331C, was substantialy damaged following a loss of control while performing low altitude aerobatics shortly after take off from the Claremore Regional Airport, near Claremore, Oklahoma. The commercial pilot/registered owner of the aircraft, was fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the aerobatic flight conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) safety inspector, the 1,700-hour pilot was performing at the Wings-over-Oklahoma Air Show. He departed Runway 17 (a 5,200-foot-long and 75 foot-wide asphalt runway), climbed to an altitude about 75 to 100-feet above the runway and rolled inverted. The pilot flew inverted about 1,500 feet down the length of the runway before the airplane settled onto the runway. The vertical stabilizer contacted the runway first followed by the roof of the airplane. A post-crash fire ensued around the cockpit area. The FAA inspector, who was working at the airshow at the time of the accident, examined the airplane and established control continuity for all flight controls. The wooden propeller was destroyed and the vertical stabilizer, rudder and cockpit area sustained structural damage. No pre-mishap anomalies were noted. A witness, who was hired to professionally videotape the airshow, reported that he has seen the pilot's flight routine and practice sessions on numerous occasions. In a written statement he stated that "Initial takeoff roll and rotation I consider normal. Aircraft was slightly slower than usual. Pilot then rolled the aircraft inverted. Pitch angle was higher than normal and the typical gain in airspeed did not occur. The right wing of the airplane was low as the pitch angle increased, as in an inverted stall situation... Right wing low was correcting to level and full down elevator was applied during the maneuver to maintain an inverted climb." In addition, the witness said the flight control inputs looked to be correct during the maneuver and he did not observe anything unusual with the operation of the engine or the propeller. Several other witnesses at the air show reported similar accounts of the mishap. The weather at the airport at 1312 was reported as wind from 170 degrees at 3 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, clear skies, temperature 98 degrees Fahrenheit, dewpoint 69 degrees Fahrenheit, and a barometric pressure setting of 30.08 inches of Mercury. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N2331C](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2331C-2018-01-11), registration cancelled 2018-01-11, S/N 899307, built 1989 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Yakovlev Yak 52 - Registry model: [Yakovlev YAK 52](https://openairdocs.org/model/yakovlev-yak-52) (registry code 9830220) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Amateur-built UNKNOWN ENG](https://openairdocs.org/engine/amateur-built-unknown-eng) (registry code 99999) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 899307 - Airframe hours: 1267 - Engines: Vendeneyev M14-P 360 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Fire: On-Ground - Flight: Air race/show, Part 91 - Registered owner: Rodger L. Modglin - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Aerobatic - Last inspection: Condition, February 1, 2004, 140 hours before - Departed: GCM, Claremore, OK - Airport: GCM, Claremore Regional, runway 17, 5,200 × 75 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 55; injuries: fatal; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 2, without waivers/limitations; last flight review April 1, 2005; seat: front; toxicology performed; flight hours: 1,789 total, 542 in this make and model, 46 in the last 90 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 170° at 3 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 99 °F, dew point 70 °F - Altimeter: 30.07 inHg - Observed at: GCM ## 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 20050723015249A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050723015249A), Jul 23, 2005: Yaklev YAK52, Claremore, OK, Destroyed, 1 fatal. (-23) On July 23, 2005 at approximately 1826 UTC, a yakovlev YAK-52, N2331C, was destroyed when it impacted terrain at the Claremore Regional Airport,… 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.