Unknown KOLB FIRESTAR II accident near Orlando, FL
On June 21, 1997, an Unknown KOLB FIRESTAR II (airplane) was involved in an accident near Orlando, FL. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- June 21, 1997
- Place
- Orlando, FL
- Aircraft
- Unknown KOLB FIRESTAR II · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 28.531°N, 81.400°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001208X08197
NTSB summary
On June 21, 1997, about 1700 eastern daylight time, a homebuilt Kolb Firestar II, unregistered airplane, crashed into Lake Holden, near Orlando, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight. The airplane was substantially damaged and the private-rated pilot, the sole occupant, was fatally injured. The flight originated about 1 hour earlier from Lake Holden, near Orlando, Florida. According to one of the witnesses the pilot was performing touch-and-go landings and after completion of one when the flight was about 500 feet above the water during a bank to the right, the airplane pitched down and impacted the water. One of the witnesses reported hearing nothing unusual from the airplane and one of the witnesses reported hearing the engine backfire just before the pilot initiated the right bank. The airplane came to rest inverted supported by the floats. The pilot was extracted and immediately brought to shore by bystanders. The airplane was later recovered by friends of the pilot. According to a friend of the pilot, he had purchased the airplane the month before in another state and transported the airplane to his home in Orlando, Florida. He began flying the airplane the second week of June and he estimates that the pilot had flown the airplane 5 times for a total of about 8 hours. The friend stated that he advised the pilot that because floats were installed, the airplane would stall at a higher indicated airspeed. According to the FAA airworthiness inspector who examined the airplane, the
Probable cause
Inadvertent stall by the pilot while turning from the upwind to the crosswind leg. Contributing to the accident was the pilots lack of total experience in the make and model airplane.
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Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
