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NTSB accident investigation · Lamb-Robin Bowers FLY Baby · Guthrie, OK · April 3, 2016

Accident · Minor injuriesData collectionFinal report
Date
April 2, 2016, 20:05 local (Apr 3, 2016, 01:05 UTC)
Place
Guthrie, OK
Injuries
1 minor
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Initial climb
Aircraft
N359RJLamb-Robin Bowers FLY Baby
Defining event
Initial climb: Aerodynamic stall/spin
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Dusk
Status
Completed · report June 1, 2016
Report
Approved by Office Director
NTSB office
General Aviation Accidents
Parties
FAA Will Rogers FSDO
FAA report
20160403003329A
Case key
92983

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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Probable cause

The pilot's exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack during the initial climb, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and a 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.

Performance/control parameters: angle of attackAircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Capability exceededLamb-Robin BOWERS FLY BABY 1A: 1 caseAll aircraft: 990 casesProbable cause

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 during the initial climb, the airplane aerodynamically stalled. He reported that he was unable to recover the airplane due to the low altitude and the airplane impacted a field off the departure end of the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, right wing, and right elevator. The pilot verified that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. As a safety recommendation, the pilot reported that using full power on takeoff would have prevented the accident. The Federal Aviation Administration has published the Airplane Flying Handbook FAA-H-8083-3A (2004). This handbook discusses stalls and states in part: The key to stall awareness is the pilot's ability to visualize the wing's angle of attack in any particular circumstance, and thereby be able to estimate his/her margin of safety above stall. This is a learned skill that must be acquired early in flight training and carried through the pilot's entire flying career. The pilot must understand and appreciate factors such as airspeed, pitch attitude, load factor, relative wind, power setting, and aircraft configuration in order to develop a reasonably accurate mental picture of the wing's angle of attack at any particular time. It is essential to flight safety that a pilot takes into consideration this visualization of the wing's angle of attack prior to entering any flight maneuver. Stall accidents usually result from an inadvertent stall at a low altitude in which a recovery was not accomplished prior to contact with the surface.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that during the initial climb, the airplane aerodynamically stalled. He reported that he was unable to recover the airplane due to the low altitude and the airplane impacted a field off the departure end of the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, right wing, and right elevator. The pilot verified that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. As a safety recommendation, the pilot reported that using full power on takeoff would have prevented the accident. The Federal Aviation Administration has published the Airplane Flying Handbook FAA-H-8083-3A (2004). This handbook discusses stalls and states in part: The key to stall awareness is the pilot's ability to visualize the wing's angle of attack in any particular circumstance, and thereby be able to estimate his/her margin of safety above stall. This is a learned skill that must be acquired early in flight training and carried through the pilot's entire flying career. The pilot must understand and appreciate factors such as airspeed, pitch attitude, load factor, relative wind, power setting, and aircraft configuration in order to develop a reasonably accurate mental picture of the wing's angle of attack at any particular time. It is essential to flight safety that a pilot takes into consideration this visualization of the wing's angle of attack prior to entering any flight maneuver. Stall accidents usually result from an inadvertent stall at a low altitude in which a recovery was not accomplished prior to contact with the surface.

Aircraft

Registration
N359RJ
Reported as
Lamb-Robin Bowers FLY Baby (1A)
Category
Airplane, amateur-built
Serial number
RL-1
Built
1978
Airframe hours
324
Engine
Continental A75-8F, 75 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Airworthiness certificate
Special, Experimental (Special)
Last inspection
Condition · February 13, 2015
Departed
GOK · Guthrie, OK
Destination
GOK · Guthrie, OK
Airport
GOK · Guthrie-Edmond Rgnl, runway 34, 5,001 × 75 ft, concrete
Equipment
None

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
Injuries
Minor
Certificate
Commercial
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
Instrument ratings
Airplane
Medical
Class 2, With waivers/limitations
Last flight review
April 10, 2014
Seat
Single
Restraint
Lap only
Flight hours
2,316 total · 174 in this make and model · 2,316 as pilot in command · 51 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 0.5 in the last 24 hours

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Dusk
Wind
Calm
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
63 °F, dew point 28 °F
Altimeter
30.12 inHg
Observed at
KGOK

Docket · 2

The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 25, 2016, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.2 MB in all.

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.