- Date
- December 25, 2005, 16:30 local (22:30 UTC)
- Place
- McKinney, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N131AKCASA 1.131E
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 25, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Dallas, Texas
- FAA report
- 20051225030289A
- Case key
- 62998
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 and airspeed, which resulted in an inadvertent stall. A contributing factor was the pilot's helmet and goggles shifting while maneuvering.
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 3,500-hour private pilot departed Runway 36, (a 1,850-feet long by 75-feet wide grass/turf runway) and made a sharp right turn to avoid the airspace of an airport located 4 miles to the south. During the turn, the pilot's new helmet and goggles were blown away from his face by the airstream. The biplane then stalled, spun to the right, and impacted terrain. The airplane came to rest on its nose, inverted, with the tail of the airplane leaning against a telephone pole. The pilot disconnected his harness and egressed the airplane as a post-impact fire ensued. The pilot was uninjured. In the recommendation section of the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2), the pilot recommended that the accident could have been prevented had an adequate preflight been performed, and had he maintained an appropriate angle of attack to avoid the stall.
Factual narrative
The 3,500-hour private pilot departed Runway 36, (a 1,850-feet long by 75-feet wide grass/turf runway) and performed a sharp right turn to avoid the airspace of an airport located 4 miles to the south. During the turn, the pilot's new helmet and goggles were blown away from his face by the airstream. The biplane then stalled, spun to the right, and impacted terrain. The airplane came to rest on its nose, inverted, with the tail of the airplane leaning against a telephone pole. The pilot disconnected his harness and egressed the airplane as a post-impact fire ensued. The pilot was uninjured. In the recommendation section of the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2), the pilot recommended that the accident could have been prevented had an adequate preflight been performed, and had he maintained an appropriate angle of attack to avoid the stall.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N131AK
- Reported as
- CASA 1.131E
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- E3B-216
- Airframe hours
- 330
- Engine
- Lycoming IA-360, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Andres U Katz, doing business as Comanche Group INC
- Registered owner
- Comanche Group INC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 1, 2005 · 20 hours before
- Departed
- TS63 · McKinney, TX
- Destination
- KHQZ · Mesquite, TX
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- TS63 · Square Air Airport, runway 36, 1,850 × 75 ft, grass/turf
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
- 57
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- October 1, 2005
- Flight hours
- 3,500 total · 330 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 280° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 27 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.98 inHg
- Observed at
- KTKI, 4 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.