American Aviation AA 1 accident near Boynton Beach, FL
On March 6, 2020, an American Aviation AA 1 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Boynton Beach, FL. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- March 6, 2020
- Place
- Boynton Beach, FL
- Aircraft
- American Aviation AA 1 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 26.555°N, 80.086°W
- NTSB ID
- 20200306X90723
Official records · ERA20FA119
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn March 6, 2020, about 1316 eastern standard time, an American Aviation AA-1, N5757L, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident in Boynton Beach, Florida. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 maintenance test flight. Radar track data provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) indicated that, after departure, the airplane first appeared on radar at 1313:52, when it was about 1.43 nautical miles (nm) southeast of the airport at an altitude of 1,350 ft mean sea level (msl). At that time, the airplane was heading east-southeast in a climbing right turn, with a ground speed of about 84 knots. The airplane continued a climbing right turn to about 1,700 ft msl, and then turned momentarily to the west-northwest before turning left to the southwest, and then west-southwest. The airplane then began to descend, with ground speed also decreasing until the track was lost at 1315:41, at an altitude of 550 ft msl, with a ground peed of about 43 knots, close to the accident site. According to a witness who saw the airplane moments before the accident, the airplane's wings appeared to "waggle" up and down, and the airplane suddenly appeared to go inverted. The nose of the airplane then pointed at the ground, and the airplane began to corkscrew rapidly while losing altitude and disappeared behind a tree line. Another witness, who resided near the accident site and had the back windows of her home open, heard what she thought sounded like a boat having engine trouble, then he
Probable cause
The pilot's inadequate preflight fuel planning, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion, and his exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack following the loss of engine power, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and loss of control.
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Browse: Florida · American aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
