- Date
- May 2, 1987, 14:30 local (18:30 UTC)
- Place
- Rhinebeck, NY
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N2009RFokker DR-1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 27, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870502012099A
- Case key
- 30446
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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 plt was making his first takeoff in a fokker DR-1 tri-plane. After becoming airborne he yawed right, then left, followed by the acft nose falling below the horizon. The acft was destroyed in the crash landing which followed. After the crash, the plt stated that he thought the first yaw was induced by wind shear. Plts familiar with this type acft stated that yaw must be controlled by dipping the wings rather than the usual method of rudder action. The acc plt had not received this instruction. He later stated that if he had known this acft was prone to rapid loss of airspeed with rudder use he could have avoided the accident. No CFI was involved in this operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2009R
- Reported as
- Fokker DR-1
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 425
- Engine
- Warner SUPER SCARAB, 165 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- James H. Cole Palen
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 26, 1986 · 45 hours before
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
- 38
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Expired
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 5,270 total · 5,100 as pilot in command · 4 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 210° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Observed at
- POU, 21 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.