Grumman American AA-5 N7132L

Summary

On 23 May 2004 at about 20:00 local time, a Grumman American AA-5 registered N7132L was involved in an accident near Greene, Rhode Island, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

23 May 2004 at 20:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Greene, Rhode Island, United States

Nearest airport

Riconn Airport (RI11)

Coordinates

41.6967, -71.7836

Aircraft

Grumman American AA-5

Registration

N7132L

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Greene → Greene

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC04CA129

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilots improper decision to depart with the flaps set to 10 degrees, and his failure to obtain proper airspeed, which resulted in a collision with trees.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

While departing from the 1,600-foot long, grass runway, with the flaps set to 10 degrees, the pilot realized that the airspeed was too slow to climb out, and there was not sufficient runway to abort the takeoff. As the airplane continued, the left wing came in contact with a tree top and the pilot performed a forced landing to an adjacent corn field. The pilot added that the accident could have been prevented if the airplane was not flown beyond its capabilities, and that the high density altitude and the short grass runway were the cause of the accident. In addition, the "Before Take-Off" checklist required the flaps to be selected to the "UP" position (zero degrees) prior to takeoff.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.