- Date
- August 24, 1991, 20:05 local (Aug 25, 1991, 00:05 UTC)
- Place
- Hampton, NH
- Injuries
- 4 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N4518BGrumman AA5B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report May 27, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910824038919A
- Case key
- 36998
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 rotated the airplane prematurely, resulting in an inadvertent stall at too low an altitude to allow recovery. Factors related to the accident were, the pilot's complacency, failure to determine the airplane's performance capabilities prior to take 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 took off from a 2100 foot grass runway. He rotated the airplane about 1/3 the way down the runway and the airplane lifted off and then settled back on the runway again. The airplane lifted off again and the pilot felt he would not clear trees directly in front of his flight path. The pilot turned the airplane to avoid the trees and stalled while at a low altitude striking the trees.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4518B
- Reported as
- Grumman AA5B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- AA5B-1038
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A4K, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Richard Laflamme, doing business as Unk/Na
- Registered owner
- Unk/Na
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Unknown · January 2, 2000
- Destination
- ASH · Nashua, NH
- Airport
- 7B3 · Hampton, runway 2, 2,100 × 170 ft, grass/turf
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
- 37
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 376 total · 277 in this make and model · 304 as pilot in command · 22 in the last 90 days · 16 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.