- Date
- October 16, 2022, 09:20 local (13:20 UTC)
- Place
- West Alexandria, OH · Grass strip adjacent to cornfield
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N4878PKolb Firestar II
- Defining event
- Initial climb: Loss of control in flight
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- Case key
- 106157
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 airplane control after takeoff, resulting in an aerodynamic stall and collision with terrain.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that the purpose of the flight was to practice pattern work. After two uneventful takeoffs and landings, he attempted a third takeoff. After liftoff, the right wing dipped, and he corrected with left aileron. The right wing continued to drop, and he added additional left rudder and nose down elevator to avoid a stall. The airplane enterd an aerodynamic stall/spin and impacted a cornfield to the north of the runway. The pilot was seriously injured. An inspector with the Federal Aviation Administration examined the wreckage and determined that damage to the wings and fuselage was substantial. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4878P
- Reported as
- Kolb Firestar II
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- F1067
- Built
- 1997
- Airframe hours
- 65
- Engine
- Rotax 503, 45 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental light sport (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · October 11, 2022 · 8 hours before
- Airport
- runway 27, 1,048 × 77 ft, grass/turf
- Equipment
- Airframe parachute
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
- 60
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Sport pilot
- Last flight review
- August 19, 2022
- Seat
- Single
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 96 total · 8 in this make and model · 96 as pilot in command · 11 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 7,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 50 °F, dew point 34 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.99 inHg
- Observed at
- DAY, 15 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KDAY 161256Z 20006KT 10SM BKN075 10/01 A2999 RMK AO2 SLP155 T01000006
Docket · 5
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 7, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 9.6 MB in all.