Gulfstream American AA-1 N6166L

Summary

On 4 December 1998 at about 18:45 local time, a Gulfstream American AA-1 registered N6166L was involved in an accident near Brooklyn, Connecticut, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

4 December 1998 at 18:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Brooklyn, Connecticut, United States

Nearest airport

Danielson Airport (5B3)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Gulfstream American AA-1

Registration

N6166L

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Danielson → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC99FA033

1 person died.

The student pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane, resulting in an inadvertent stall/spin.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot, formerly commercial-rated, took off, maintained a level flight attitude for about 5 seconds, then put the airplane into a steep climb. A witness then heard the engine 'cut out' and saw the airplane in a steep left bank, rapidly losing altitude. During the descent, the witness heard several backfires. The airplane leveled its wings, but continued a 25-degree descent as it disappeared below a tree line. It crashed into a shallow river, next to which, was a large field. The empennage stuck out of the water at a 40-degree angle, and was buckled on the right side. There was a strong smell of auto gas, though the airplane had no STC for its use. One propeller blade was embedded in the riverbed, with scratches emanating from the leading edge at varying angles. The other propeller blade exhibited S-bending , severe leading edge pitting, and chordwise and lengthwise scratching. Examination of the engine did not disclose evidence of mechanical malfunction. The student pilot's commercial license was permanently revoked in 1996, after he was observed flying during a suspension. He had about 10 hours of flight time since starting to fly again, about a week earlier.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.