Porter Glen AVENTURA II N79GP

Summary

On 1 December 2007 at about 17:54 local time, a Porter Glen AVENTURA II registered N79GP, operated by Clark Thomas P, was involved in an accident near Rockledge, Florida, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

1 December 2007 at 17:54

Classification

Accident

Location

Rockledge, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Rockledge Airport (21FA)

Coordinates

28.3006, -80.7214

Aircraft

Porter Glen AVENTURA II

Registration

N79GP

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Clark Thomas P

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Rockledge → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA08LA023

1 person was seriously injured.

The failure of the pilot to maintain airspeed during climbout, resulting in an aerodynamic stall and uncontrolled descent. Contributing to the severity of the pilot's injuries was the inadequate manufacture of the shoulder harness restraint cables.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Following maintenance to the amateur-built airplane, including the manufacture and installation of shoulder harness cables and a condition inspection, the airplane was test flown by the facility general manager on two separate flights lasting a total of one hour. The only discrepancies reported by the general manager related to the airplane's brakes and noise in the headset. While the pilot has no independent recollection of the accident flight, a pilot-rated witness who was outside on the airport reported that his attention was drawn to the accident airplane when he heard a normal sounding engine run-up being performed. He watched the airplane take off, becoming airborne at the midpoint of the runway. The initial takeoff climb appeared normal, then approximately 1.5 seconds later, at an estimated 75 feet above ground level (agl), the left wing dropped or "bobbled." The airplane rolled to the right, then climbed to 100 to 150 feet agl. The right wing raised, the nose pitched up 15 degrees, which was more than a normal pitch attitude, and then the airplane "shuddered" and stalled to the left. The airplane impacted terrain in a left-wing-low attitude. During the impact sequence, the pilot's shoulder harness cable failed prematurely due to improper manufacturing, contributing to his serious head injuries. No evidence of preimpact failure or malfunction was identified for either the flight controls or engine.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.