# NTSB GAA16LA329: Mini Max 1200, Batesville, IN, June 8, 2016 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: June 8, 2016, 11:30 local (15:30 UTC) - Place: Batesville, IN - Coordinates: 39.343887, -85.258613 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.3439&lon=-85.2586&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Initial climb](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/350) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Initial climb: Aerodynamic stall/spin](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241) - Highest injury: Serious injuries - Injuries: 1 serious - Status: Completed, report October 6, 2016 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: General Aviation Accidents - Parties: FAA - NTSB case key (mKey): 93445 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=GAA16LA329 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/93445/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=93445 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA16LA329 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed and his exceedance of the airplane's critical angle-of-attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's decision to depart without obtaining flight training in the accident airplane. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Performance/control parameters: angle of attack](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062042): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 990 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062042/cases.md) - [Performance/control parameters: airspeed](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062010): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 1,681 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062010/cases.md) - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md) - [Training: training with equipment](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02031530): Personnel issues › Experience/knowledge · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 32 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02031530/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Initial climb: Miscellaneous/other](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/900); cases with it: [All aircraft, 1,556 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/900/sequence.md) - [Initial climb: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240); cases with it: [All aircraft, 5,002 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md) - [Initial climb: Attempted remediation/recovery](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/060); cases with it: [All aircraft, 1,422 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/060/sequence.md) - [Initial climb: Aerodynamic stall/spin](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241) (defining event); cases with it: [All aircraft, 1,529 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241/sequence.md) - [Initial climb: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot reported that, during the initial climb after takeoff, he noticed the controls were "loose and sloppy," and he elected to return to the airport and land. During the turn back to the airport, the airplane's nose dropped, and the pilot increased back pressure on the control stick with little effect. The airplane descended into the wooded terrain about 1/4-mile northwest of the airport, resulting in substantial damage to both wings and the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot was likely unfamiliar with the airplane's handling characteristics, as he stated that he had not received any flight training specific to the accident airplane. It is likely that, during the turn, the nose dropped due an aerodynamic stall; the pilot's increased back pressure on the control stick exacerbated the stall by further decreasing the airspeed and increasing the angle of attack. ## Factual narrative On June 8, 2016 about 1130 eastern daylight time, an unregistered, experimental amateur built Mini Max airplane, impacted terrain shortly after takeoff from the Batesville Airport (HLB), Batesville, Indiana. The commercial pilot, the sole occupant sustained serious injuries. The airplane was owned and operated by the pilot as a day, Visual Flight Rules (VFR) personal flight under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC) prevailed at the time of the accident and no flight plan was filed. The flight was the initial flight of the day. The pilot reported that he was conducting a normal initial climb after takeoff when he noticed the controls were "lose and sloppy", the pilot decided to circle and land. Halfway through the turn the airplane's nose dropped and the pilot reported pulling back on the stick with little effect. The airplane descended into the wooded terrain about one quarter of a mile northwest of the airport. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings and the fuselage. The pilot verified that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. 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: UNREG (not matched to a registry record) - Reported make and model: MINI MAX 1200 (Z) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: unknown - Engines: Zeonoa 40 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: None - Departed: HLB, BATESVILLE, IN - Destination: HLB, BATESVILLE, IN - Airport: HLB, Batesville - Equipment: None ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 64; injuries: serious; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; seat: single; restraint: 4-point; flight hours: 300 total ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 340° at 8 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Temperature: 70 °F, dew point 46 °F - Altimeter: 30.03 inHg - Observed at: KHAO, 34 nm away ## Docket (4 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 16, 2016, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=93445. 12.9 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 10.8 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40443150&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Master.PDF - Record of Conversation with FAA (item 2, .PDF, 244 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40443151&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Record%20of%20Conversation%20with%20FAA-Master.PDF - Miscellaneous Information (item 3, .PDF, 92 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40443152&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Miscellaneous%20Information-Master.PDF - Accident Photos (Courtesy of FAA) (item 4, .PDF, 3 photos, 1.8 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40443153&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Accident%20Photos%20(Courtesy%20of%20FAA)-Master.PDF 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.