Stetson Norman B CHALLENGER II N94454

Summary

On 6 August 2013 at about 17:00 local time, a Stetson Norman B CHALLENGER II registered N94454 was involved in an accident near Orange, Massachusetts, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 August 2013 at 17:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Orange, Massachusetts, United States

Nearest airport

Orange Municipal Airport (ORE)

Coordinates

42.5686, -72.2864

Aircraft

Stetson Norman B CHALLENGER II

Registration

N94454

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Orange → Orange

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA13CA354

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain airspeed during the initial climb after takeoff, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s lack of total flight experience in the accident airplane make and model.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was departing for his first flight in the airplane. According to a statement provided by the pilot to the airport manager, the airplane was about 50 feet above ground level when the left wing dropped. The pilot reported that he attempted to correct the wing drop by manipulating the ailerons only; however, he was unsuccessful in leveling the airplane. He then applied left rudder while applying right aileron and the airplane began to spin to the left. The airplane impacted the ground in an approximate 10-degree nose down, left bank attitude, which resulted in substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. According to Federal Aviation Administration records and photographs of the Hobbs meter, the airplane had accumulated 8.9 hours in the 2 years since the pilot had purchased it. The pilot stated that these hours had been accumulated during taxi tests, and that the accident flight was his first attempt to fly the airplane. According to the pilot, there were no mechanical malfunctions or abnormalities that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.