Loss of Control in Flight · NTSB CEN13FA060
GRUMMAN AMERICAN AVN. CORP. AA-1B — Burlington, WI
| Date | November 18, 2012 |
| Location | Burlington, WI |
| Aircraft | GRUMMAN AMERICAN AVN. CORP. AA-1B |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Uncontrolled descent Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) |
| Pilot age | 50 |
| Pilot total time | 290 hrs · Low time |
| Time in type | Unknown |
| Fatalities | 2 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Airspeed-Not attained/maintained - C
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
- Personnel issues-Experience/knowledge-Experience/qualifications-Recent experience-Pilot - F
What happened
A witness observed the airplane maneuvering near the airport in a left turn and steep descent. Moments later, the witness observed the airplane in a tight, right turn that developed into a spin. The airplane impacted the terrain in an extremely nose-low attitude about 1/4 mile from the runway’s threshold. An examination of the airplane’s wreckage revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The circumstances of the accident are consistent with an inadvertent stall and spin. It could not be determined if the pilot was maneuvering the airplane due to a perceived traffic conflict or for some other purpose. The pilot had not flown routinely in the preceding 2 years, and his most recent flight occurred more than 5 months before the accident flight.