Stock S-1S N29GS

Summary

On 2 May 1999 at about 21:40 local time, a Stock S-1S registered N29GS was involved in an accident near Westtown, New York, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 May 1999 at 21:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Westtown, New York, United States

Coordinates

41.3191, -74.5403

Aircraft

Stock S-1S

Registration

N29GS

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Montgomery → Lincoln Park

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC99FA100

1 person died.

The pilot's inability to recover from an intentional stall spin maneuver. A factor in the accident was the change in the airplane's center of gravity which made the airplane more difficult to recover from a spin.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

While practicing her sportsman competition sequence, the pilot deliberately entered a spin to the left. According to a witness, the pilot had been having trouble with her spin entries in the past, and that this entry was the cleanest he'd seen her perform. After 1 1/4 turns, the airplane's rotation slowed, but approximately two turns later, the rotation accelerated, and the airplane transitioned to an inverted spin. The pilot radioed that she could not recover from the spin and was advised to left go of the controls. Fifty feet prior to impact, the descent rate, and rate of rotation of the airplane slowed. Also, the nose of the airplane was recovering from a vertical down position. The day of the accident, the pilot purchased 12 pounds of weight to be installed on her airplane to move the center of gravity aft. According to the FAA's Flight Training Handbook, 'The recovery from a stall in any airplane becomes progressively more difficult as its center of gravity moves aft. This is particularly important in spin recovery....'

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.