Pilot Debrief

Daniel L Patrick Kolb Mark near Mystic, CT — 2009-09-20

Final reportERA09LA531
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Date
2009-09-20
Location
Mystic, CT, USA
Airport
CT48
Aircraft
Daniel L Patrick Kolb Mark
Registration
N208NS
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Minor
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Approach

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed during final approach, resulting in an inadvertent stall. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's lack of total flight experience.

NTSB narrative

According to the sport pilot, he was test flying the experimental airplane in the traffic pattern. While on final approach, with a flap setting of 20 degrees, he increased the flaps to 40 degrees. At that time, the airplane began to stall and he tried to increase engine power. He stated that when the airplane stalled, his airspeed was too slow and he was too low. The left main landing gear contacted the top of some trees and then impacted the ground. The pilot stated that he had about 4 hours in the accident airplane and that he was still test flying it. His total time in make and model was approximately 9 hours and his total pilot time was about 60 hours.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Loss of control
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have maintained a safe airspeed and altitude during approach.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 6 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents6

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