NTSB CAROL · Event
Event IAD96LA140
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
the pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the initial climb after takeoff, which resulted in a stall and collision with the terrain.
Factual narrative
HISTORY OF FLIGHT
On August 24, 1996, at about 0830 eastern daylight time, N81543, a Aeronca 7AC Champion, owned and operated by the private pilot, impacted the runway shortly after takeoff from the Frederick Municipal Airport, Frederick, Maryland. The passenger was not injured, however, the pilot was transported to a local hospital with minor injuries, and the aircraft sustained substantial damage. Visual meteorological conditions existed and no flight plan was filed for this local flight. The flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. During an interview with the FAA Inspector, the pilot stated that he had started his departure roll on runway 12, with a normal power setting. He said that he lifted off at 55 miles per hour (mph) indicated air speed (IAS), climbed at 55 mph in a steep but normal attitude at about 30 degrees nose up. He said that he leveled off at about 100 feet above ground with wings level, when a "giant hand" (he guessed turbulence - did not seem to be a flight control problem) started to "throw the airplane around." The airplane rolled left and right to 45 degrees or so, without warning. He said the airplane then descended in a flat attitude as if it was pushed and he hit the ground slightly left wing down at full throttle. The Pilot/Owner failed to submit NTSB Form 6120.1/2, Pilot/Operator report after three requests.
WRECKAGE EXAMINATION/DOCUMENTATION
Examination of the accident site found the aircraft off the left side of runway about 100 feet. A witness who was watching the takeoff stated that the airplane took off in a steep nose high attitude and at about ten feet above the ground stalled and fell back onto the runway striking the left wing and separating the left main landing gear. He said the aircraft then slid off the runway to the left. The pilot stated that he had started his departure roll on runway 12 with a normal power setting. He said he climbed at 55 mph in a steep but normal attitude at about 30 degrees nose up. He said that he leveled off at about 100 feet above ground with wings level, when (what seemed like) a 'giant hand' (he guessed turbulence; there did not seem to be a flight control problem) started to 'throw the airplane around.' The airplane rolled left and right to 45 degrees or so, without warning. He said the airplane then descended in a flat attitude as if it was pushed, and it hit the ground slightly left wing down at full throttle. A witness, who was watching the takeoff, stated that the airplane took off in a steep nose high attitude, and at about ten feet above the ground, it stalled and fell back onto the runway, striking the left wing and separating the left main landing gear. He said the aircraft then slid off the runway to the left. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1996_IAD96LA140.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (stall, turbulence). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2021 · Journal article (IJAAA)
Comparative Study on the Prediction of Aerodynamic Characteristics of Mini - Unmanned Aerial Vehicle with Turbulence Models
When dealing with CFD simulations the turbulent nature is seen on most of the engineering flows and these flows need to be solved.
- arXiv 2020 · arXiv preprint
Numerical Simulation of Iced Wing Using Separating Shear Layer Fixed Turbulence Models
Aerodynamic prediction of glaze ice accretion on airfoils and wing is studied using the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes method.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper
Prediction of stall and post-stall behavior of airfoils at low and high Reynolds numbers
An interactive boundary-layer method, together with the e(super n)-approach to the calculation of transition, has been used to predict the stall and post-stall behavior of airfoils at low and high Rey…
- arXiv 2026 · arXiv preprint
Direct Numerical Simulations of Ice-Ocean Boundary Turbulence
Turbulent heat and freshwater transport at ice-ocean interfaces controls glacier and iceberg melt rates, yet the underlying physics remains poorly constrained.
- NASA NTRS 2026 · Conference Paper
Computational Analysis of Steady State Aerodynamics of Transonic Truss-Braced Wing Configuration in Deep Stall
This study presents a computational investigation of steady state aerodynamics of the Subsonic Ultra-Green Aircraft Research (SUGAR) Transonic Truss-Braced Wing (TTBW) configuration over a wide range …
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2025 · Journal article (JAAER)
Political Turbulence and Aviation Safety: A Cross-National Analysis of Political Stability's Effects on Aviation Accidents
To what extent does political stability affect aviation safety? This research aims to link domestic political conditions and public safety through the consideration of aviation accident frequency.
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