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ATL91LA126

1991-07-08 · DAWSON, Georgia, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 16J

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT'S ABRUPT ROTATION AFTER FAILING TO MAINTAIN DIRECTIONAL CONTROL DURING TAKEOFF ROLL, AND HIS FAILURE TO MAINTAIN AIRSPEED DURING THE INITIAL CLIMB, WHICH RESULTED IN A STALL. A FACTOR IN THE ACCIDENT WAS: THE PILOT'S LACK OF FAMILIARITY WITH THE AIRPLANE.

Factual narrative

THE COMMERCIAL PILOT HAD REPORTED HAVING PROBLEMS WITH DIRECTIONAL CONTROL IN THIS AIRPLANE DURING TAKEOFFS AND LANDINGS. HE OBTAINED SOME INSTRUCTION IN A DIFFERENT TAILWHEEL AIRPLANE (A CESSNA 140), BUT COULD NOT FIND SOMEONE TO CHECK HIM OUT IN THE ACCIDENT AIRPLANE. HE ELECTED TO FLY THE AIRPLANE WITHOUT A CHECKOUT. ON TAKEOFF ROLL, HE WAS SEEN WEAVING FROM ONE SIDE OF THE RUNWAY TO THE OTHER. HE ABRUPTLY ROTATED AFTER DEPARTING THE RUNWAY SURFACE TO THE SIDE. THE WINGS 'WOBBLED,' THEN THE AIRPLANE WAS OBSERVED TO BE STALLING. THE AIRPLANE ROLLED OFF TO THE RIGHT AND IMPACTED THE TERRAIN IN A NOSE-LOW ATTITUDE. THE PILOT HAD ONLY 4 HOURS TOTAL TIME IN THIS MAKE/MODEL. HE REPORTED NO MECHANICAL PROBLEMS WITH THE AIRPLANE. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1991_ATL91LA126.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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