Moore Byron J ZEALOT N61ZT

Summary

On 6 February 2012 at about 15:39 local time, a Moore Byron J ZEALOT registered N61ZT, operated by Griffith Fredric P, was involved in an accident near Minneola, 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

6 February 2012 at 15:39

Classification

Accident

Location

Minneola, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Florida Flying Gators (3FD4)

Coordinates

28.6275, -81.8028

Aircraft

Moore Byron J ZEALOT

Registration

N61ZT

Category

Glider

Engines

1

Operator

Griffith Fredric P

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Minneola → Minneola

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA12LA171

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed on the base leg for landing, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and loss of airplane control.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that he departed the airport and flew to a training area to conduct flight-testing (the airplane had recently been rebuilt), including some power-on stalls. According to the operating specifications, the glider was supposed to stall at 48 mph with the power on; however, the pilot stated that the glider would stall at 63 mph. However, the airspeed indicator had not been checked for accuracy. He returned to the airport and descended on a left base leg of the traffic pattern for runway 18. The glider was about 100 feet above ground level when the left wing and nose pitched down violently and stalled. There was insufficient altitude to recover and the glider collided with trees and the ground. The pilot stated that the glider did not experience any mechanical problems before the accident, and postcrash examination of the aircraft and engine showed no signs of a mechanical failure or malfunction. Although the pilot stated that the glider was flying at 70 mph at the time of the accident, it is likely that the airspeed indicator was inaccurate and that he was operating at a much lower speed, which resulted in the aerodynamic stall.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.