Amateur-built NIEUPORT 1 accident near Brasstown, North Carolina, August 10, 2009
On August 10, 2009 at about 2:30 pm local time, a amateur-built NIEUPORT 1, registered N112PM, was substantially damaged in an accident during initial climb near Brasstown, North Carolina (Private Strip airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate airspeed during climb after takeoff, resulting in an inadvertent stall.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 10, 2009 · about 2:30 pm local time
- Place
- Brasstown, North Carolina · Private Strip · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built NIEUPORT 1
- Registration
- N112PM · registry record · serial 012
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The accident flight was the initial flight of the experimental, amateur-built airplane. Witnesses observed the airplane departing south toward rising terrain. The normal departure procedure for that private grass strip was to depart toward the north, where the terrain descended. The airplane was observed in a normal takeoff roll before becoming airborne and, about 300 feet above the ground, pitching up before coming straight down. The airplane impacted the ground nose first, coming to rest on its back side in a pasture adjacent to the right side of the grass strip. A postcrash fire ensued. The airplane’s engine was heard at full power until impact. The responding Federal Aviation Administration inspector established flight control continuity to all the flight controls. The engine exam did not reveal any discrepancy that would have prevented the engine from producing power.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Aerodynamic stall/spin during initial climb defining event
- Loss of control in flight during initial climb
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during uncontrolled descent
- Fire/smoke (post-impact) during post (impact)
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Incorrect action performance › Pilot
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Airspeed › Not attained/maintained
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 500 hours in all; 1 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 1 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 800 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Volkswagen VW 835 CC (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: Brasstown NC
- Destination: Brasstown NC
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 30.25 inHg
- Observation at 2:39 pm from RHP, 11 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ERA09LA454.