- Date
- September 28, 1989, 16:10 local (20:10 UTC)
- Place
- Marcy, NY
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N247DNiedzielski COOT-A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 22, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890928036949A
- Case key
- 36239
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
Fuel system contamination and the pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed, which resulted in a stall/spin.
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
Witnesses stated that the pilot had been flying his amphibian airplane in the local area for about 1/2 hour before he returned to the traffic pattern area. The homebuilt airplane entered a midfield crosswind leg at an estimated 800 feet above the ground. Witnesses reported that they heard the engine RPM increase and decrease as the aircraft crossed the airport, and they described the wings 'wobbling' or 'tipping' back and forth. The witnesses stated that the engine noise decreased, the airplane performed a series of shallow bank turns before the nose dropped and the airplane banked sharply to the right. The airplane entered a two to three turn spin and impacted the ground on airport property. Post-accident investigation revealed that the fuel pump and the carburetor fuel screen were contaminated with the remains of several large insects. There was no evidence of any other pre-impact malfunction/difficulty.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N247D
- Reported as
- Niedzielski COOT-A
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- AN-1
- Engine
- Franklin 6A-335-B, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Fred F. Sampson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 16, 1989
- Departed
- 4B2 · Marcy, NY
- Airport
- 4B2 · Riverside, runway 14, 3,500 × 46 ft
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
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Lowest ceiling
- None
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.