Young MERLIN GT accident near Fort Myers, FL
On April 19, 1997, a Young MERLIN GT (airplane) was involved in an accident near Fort Myers, FL. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- April 19, 1997
- Place
- Fort Myers, FL
- Aircraft
- Young MERLIN GT · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 26.741°N, 81.839°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001208X07793
NTSB summary
On April 19, 1997, about 1200 eastern daylight time, a Young Merlin GT, N2100S, registered to an individual, crashed shortly after takeoff from Pine Shawdows Airpark, Fort Myers, Florida, while on a Title 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The aircraft was destroyed and the airline transport-rated pilot was fatally injured. The private-rated passenger received serious injuries. The flight was originating at the time of the accident. The passenger stated they departed from an intersection of a taxiway and the runway from which there was 1,600 feet of available runway for takeoff. The takeoff was normal. As they climbed through 250 feet, the pilot began to "pump" the throttle as if he was trying to get more power out of the engine. The passenger stated he did not perceive any loss of engine power, but he could not hear it real well for they had the doors locked open and there was a lot of noise in the aircraft. As the pilot pumped the throttle, the aircraft drifted to the left and then the left wing and nose dropped down. The aircraft entered a spin to the left from which they crashed. Postcrash examination of the aircraft by an FAA inspector showed no evidence of failure or malfunction of the aircraft structure or flight control systems. About 8 gallons of fuel and oil mixture was found remaining in the fuel tank. The mixture had a normal color. Examination of the engine showed no evidence of damage from oil starvation and the spark plugs had deposit coloring consistent with normal engine opera
Probable cause
the pilot's failure to maintain airspeed during the initial climb after takeoff, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin and subsequent collision with the terrain. Factors relating to the accident were: the pilot's failure to use all available runway, and his failure to recognize the reduced performance of the aircraft, when it was configured with floats, and was flown with two occupants aboar
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Browse: Florida
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
