NTSB CAROL · Event
Event WPR11CA066
Registry · N74400
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
GRUMMAN AMERICAN AA-5B
Year of manufacture
1976 · 34 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING O&VO-360 SER (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19760106
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S AA03D7
Registrant of record
SPIRA GREG
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot's failure to remove the gust lock prior to takeoff.
Factual narrative
The pilot submitted a written statement. She said she did not conduct a control check prior to takeoff. During the departure roll when the airplane reached 70 miles per hour, she realized the gust lock was still installed. She attempted to remove it unsuccessfully and then reduced the throttle attempting to stop the airplane. The airplane went off the end of the runway, the nose gear separated, and it came to rest in a dirt field. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall and right wing. According to the pilot, she did not perform a flight control check prior to takeoff. During the departure roll, when the airplane reached 70 miles per hour, she realized that the gust lock was still installed in the control column. She attempted to remove the device, but was unsuccessful. She reduced the engine power in an attempt to stop the airplane, but it continued off the end of the runway; the nose gear separated, and it came to rest in a dirt field. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall and right wing. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).
- C Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Flight control system-Gust lock or damper-Incorrect use/operation - C
- C Personnel issues-Task performance-Inspection-Preflight inspection-Pilot - C
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2010_WPR11CA066.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). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- 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 …
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Automating Bird Diverter Installation through Multi-Aerial Robots and Signal Temporal Logic Specifications
This paper tackles the task assignment and trajectory generation problem for bird diverter installation using a fleet of multi-rotors.
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Variation of Critical Crystallization Pressure for the Formation of Square Ice in Graphene Nanocapillaries
Two-dimensional square ice in graphene nanocapillaries at room temperature is a fascinating phenomenon and has been confirmed experimentally.
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Polycrystallinity enhances stress build-up around ice
Damage caused by freezing wet, porous materials is a widespread problem, but is hard to predict or control. Here, we show that polycrystallinity makes a great difference to the stress build-up process…
- arXiv 2022 · arXiv preprint
Enhanced Prediction of Three-dimensional Finite Iced Wing Separated Flow Near Stall
Icing on three-dimensional wings causes severe flow separation near stall. Standard improved delayed detached eddy simulation (IDDES) is unable to correctly predict the separating reattaching flow due…
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2021 · Journal article (JAAER)
Analysis on the Negative Emotional, Physiological, and Cognitive Responses Elicited from of the Activation of a Stall Alarm
Failing to identify an aerodynamic stall can lead to the inability of an aircraft to sustain flight. To warn pilots of an impending or fully-developed stall, many aircraft have safety devices installe…
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗