Douglas ADVENTURE AIR AMPIB N469PD

Summary

On 29 October 2004 at about 21:00 local time, a Douglas ADVENTURE AIR AMPIB registered N469PD was involved in an accident near Pawtucket, Rhode Island, 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

29 October 2004 at 21:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States

Nearest airport

North Central State Airport (SFZ)

Coordinates

41.9206, -71.4911

Aircraft

Douglas ADVENTURE AIR AMPIB

Registration

N469PD

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Pawtucket → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC05LA012

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control, which resulted in an inadvertent stall.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot had completed construction of the accident airplane, and an FAA inspector had approved it for flight and issued a special airworthiness certificate. On the day of the accident, which was the second flight conducted since the construction was completed, witnesses observed the airplane in the airport traffic pattern. As the airplane turned onto the base leg, about 500 feet above the ground, it suddenly "nosed over," and spiraled towards the ground. The witnesses also recalled that the engine "sputtered" just prior to it descending. An additional witness recalled that the engine was "revving at full power" as it descended. The airplane came to rest about 1 mile from the airport, where a post-crash fire consumed the wreckage. According to a statement posted by the accident owner/pilot on a website message board dedicated to Adventurer experimental amphibian airplanes, the pilot stated that he had modified the elevator of the airplane from a 3 degree maximum up angle, to a 18 degree maximum up angle for the accident flight, "to see if I have leveled out the wings, and if I can get sufficient elevator up travel to climb out of the airport at 90mph." Examination of the wreckage revealed that the airplane's automotive type engine was extensively damaged by the post-crash fire, and further examination could not be performed. Also noted were several socks filled with steel ball bearings, weighing approximately 25 pounds, and 1 or 2-50-pound bags of ballast in the wreckage. The exact location of where the socks and ballast were stationed during the flight could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.