- Date
- May 11, 2003, 06:12 local (10:12 UTC)
- Place
- Glens Falls, NY
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N20909Francis Giroux Moni-Motorglider 032
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 28, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20030511007169A
- Case key
- 56963
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 airspeed which resulted in an inadvertent stall. Contributing factors were the excessive taxi speed, and the inadvertent lift off.
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 pilot was attempting a "high speed taxi test" when the airplane unexpectedly became airborne, about 1,000 feet down the runway. As the airplane approached the end of the runway, at an altitude of 100 feet, and "marginal airspeed," the pilot initiated a left turn to return to the airport. During the turn, the airplane stalled, and impacted the ground in a steep, nose-down attitude. Examination of the airplane revealed no mechanical deficiencies.
Factual narrative
On May 11, 2003, at 0612 eastern daylight time, a homebuilt Moni-Motorglider 032, N20909, was substantially damaged while attempting to land at Floyd Bennett Memorial Airport (GFL), Glens Falls, New York. The certificated commercial pilot received serious injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the test flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
According to the pilot, he was attempting a "high speed taxi test" when the airplane unexpectedly became airborne, about 1,000 feet down the runway. As the airplane approached the end of the runway, at an altitude of 100 feet, and "marginal airspeed," the pilot initiated a left turn to return to the airport. During the turn, the airplane stalled, and impacted the ground in a steep, nose-down attitude.
The airplane had been built by the pilot over the previous 8 months. In the weeks leading up to the accident, the pilot had twice attempted to obtain a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airworthiness certificate for it. The FAA inspector who conducted the most recent inspection of the airplane in late April 2003, stated that it did not meet FAA airworthiness standards.
Examination of the airplane by an FAA inspector revealed no mechanical anomalies.
Weather conditions reported at the airport, at 0553, included winds from 360 degrees at 4 knots and clear skies.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N20909
- Reported as
- Francis Giroux Moni-Motorglider 032
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 032MG-1
- Airframe hours
- 0
- Engine
- Teledyne Continental 4A032-III, 18 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight test · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Francis A Giroux
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- GFL
- Destination
- GFL
- Airport
- GFL · Floyd Bennett Memorial Airport, runway 01, 5,000 × 150 ft, asphalt
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
- 52
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Last flight review
- February 1, 2003
- Seat
- Single
- Flight hours
- 1,000 total · 0 in this make and model · 900 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 50 °F, dew point 41 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.79 inHg
- Observed at
- GFL
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.