- Date
- May 25, 2019, 10:00 local (14:00 UTC)
- Place
- East Haddam, CT
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N235KPJihlavan Airplanes Sro KP5
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Aerodynamic stall/spin
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 13, 2020
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20190525005119A
- Case key
- 99505
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 the proper airspeed and his exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack during takeoff, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.
Findings · 3
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 receiving instruction reported that, during takeoff from the grass adjacent to a paved runway, after adding full power, he held the stick back during acceleration. He added that the airplane did not accelerate "much above the red line (40 mph)" and that he felt a "bump." The airplane then bounced and veered right. The flight instructor reported that, during the takeoff, the angle of attack was "higher than normal" and that the airplane aerodynamically stalled 3 ft above ground level. The right wing dropped, the airplane yawed right, and he and the pilot attempted to recover with nose-down, left-rudder, and left-aileron inputs. The airplane landed sideways, the landing gear collapsed, and the propeller struck the ground. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot and instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The pilot receiving instruction reported that, during takeoff on the grass adjacent to a paved runway, after adding full power, he held the stick back during acceleration. He added that, the airplane did not accelerate "much above the red line (40 mph)". He felt a "bump", the airplane bounced, and veered to the right. The pilot added left rudder to correct, but the landing gear collapsed, and the propeller struck the ground. The flight instructor reported that, during the takeoff, the angle of attack was "higher than normal" and the airplane aerodynamically stalled 3 ft above the ground. The right wing dropped, the airplane yawed to the right, and he and the pilot receiving instruction attempted to recover with nose down, left rudder, and left aileron input. The airplane landed sideways, the landing gear collapsed, and the propeller struck the ground. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot and flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The automated weather observation station, located about 4 miles southwest, reported that, about 5 minutes before the accident, the wind was from 290° at 5 knots. The pilot was departing runway 14.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N235KP
- Reported as
- Jihlavan Airplanes Sro KP5
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 5110128K
- Built
- 2005
- Airframe hours
- 363.7
- Engine
- Rotax 912ULS, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Special light-sport (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 23, 2019
- Departed
- SNC · Chester, CT
- Destination
- SNC · Chester, CT
- Airport
- 42B · Goodspeed, runway 14, 2,120 × 50 ft, grass/turf
- 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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 56
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Sport Pilot
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Sport pilot
- Last flight review
- February 23, 2019
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 270 total · 99 in this make and model · 154 as pilot in command · 1 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 55
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- BasicMed
- Last flight review
- October 23, 2018
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 845 total · 132 in this make and model · 798 as pilot in command · 19 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.21 inHg
- Observed at
- KSNC, 4 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 26, 2019, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 5.7 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.