- Date
- January 3, 1990, 13:15 local (17:15 UTC)
- Place
- Penn Yan, NY
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N896JCSteele Acrosport II
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 4, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900103000069A
- Case key
- 36490
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
Failure of the pilot to maintain directional control during the takeoff ground run. His lack of experience & the snowbank were related factors.
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 reported that the homebuilt aircraft drifted close to the right edge of the runway during the takeoff ground run, so he corrected with left rudder. The aircraft veered off the left side of the runway, the landing gear struck a snowbank, and the aircraft nosed over. The pilot stated that he had no previous experience in the accident aircraft, and he 'paid too much attention to (the) instruments with head in cockpit.'
Aircraft
- Registration
- N896JC
- Reported as
- Steele Acrosport II (ACROSPORT)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 689
- Airframe hours
- 118
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- James Fink
- Registered owner
- David N. Phelps
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 6, 1989
- Departed
- N-22
- Airport
- Penn Yan, runway 10, 3,206 × 50 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
- 69
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 7,500 total · 5,000 as pilot in command · 194 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 45 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N896JC · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.