- Date
- May 28, 1990, 10:45 local (14:45 UTC)
- Place
- Athens, NY
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N77WCStinson 108-1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 2, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 36650
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
Inflight loss of control due to loss of airspeed and subsequent stall when the pilot's seat back failed and the pilot hung onto the control wheel, resulting in an excessive nose high attitude.
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's seat back broke just after the airplane became airborne. The pilot tilted aft and pulled back on the control wheel. The aircraft climbed steeply, turned right, stalled, and impacted inverted. Remedial action was not possible. The fracture was located adjacent to a welded junction of the seat back attach point. Examination revealed the tube frame failed in ductile overload with no evidence of corrosion of fatigue.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N77WC
- Reported as
- Stinson 108-1
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 108-279
- Engine
- Franklin 6A4-150, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Rodney C. Geiger
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Airport
- NY03 · Athens, runway 20, 2,600 × 60 ft, grass/turf
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 44
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F