Hudson Flyer N910GC accident near Penn Yan, New York

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain altitude after takeoff.

NTSB analysis

The accident flight was the fourth test flight of the airplane, which was a historical replica of an airplane built in 1910, and it was the first time that the pilot planned to perform a traffic pattern flight around the airport before returning to land. The pilot reported that the airplane's controls were responsive and effective during the first three flights, which had a total duration of about 5 minutes. While the first three flights had been conducted under calm wind conditions, there was a crosswind from the west at the time of the accident. A witness to the accident flight stated that the airplane took off on runway 19, climbed to about 100 feet above ground level, and turned left (downwind) about two-thirds of the way down the runway. The airplane entered a controlled descent and impacted the ground in a right-wing-low attitude. The pilot did not report any mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the airplane. He stated that the airplane began to descend after beginning the left turn and that he thought that the airplane experienced a decrease in lift as a result of the tailwind. Although an airplane does not lose aerodynamic lift when turning from a crosswind to a tailwind, the pilot may have misperceived the increased ground speed as an increase in airspeed and increased the airplane’s pitch angle to compensate, resulting in a descent due to increased drag.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA10LA318 for the full record.