Grumman American AA-1C N9555U

Summary

On 22 May 2008 at about 15:58 local time, a Grumman American AA-1C registered N9555U, operated by Hortman Aviation, was involved in an accident near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

22 May 2008 at 15:58

Classification

Accident

Location

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Nearest airport

Northeast Philadelphia Airport (PNE)

Coordinates

40.0872, -75.0150

Aircraft

Grumman American AA-1C

Registration

N9555U

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Hortman Aviation

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Philadelphia → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC08FA189

2 people died.

The flight instructor's failure to maintain airspeed 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 instructor and student pilot had completed one touch-and-go landing and the airplane was in the departure climb, when the pilots were instructed by an air traffic controller to "make right traffic." The airplane entered a right turn, and was observed at a "high angle of attack" just prior to entering a descending 90-degree right bank. The airplane struck a parked trailer and skided across the ground, coming to rest under a row of parked trailers. A post-crash fire ensued. Examination of the airplane and engine revealed no pre-impact mechanical anomalies. The Pilot Operating Handbook (POH) for the airplane listed a stall speed of approximately 65 mph at a bank angle of 20 degrees, and 90 mph at a bank angle of 60 degrees. The POH listed a rotation speed between 60 and 65 mph and a normal climb speed of 95 mph.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.