Grumman G-21A accident near Penn Yan, New York, February 15, 2005
On February 15, 2005 at about 2:42 pm local time, a Grumman G-21A, registered N327, was destroyed in an accident near Penn Yan, New York (Penn Yan Airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The flight instructor's inadequate planning/decision and his remedial action to conduct or recover from a simulated emergency procedure.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 15, 2005 · about 2:42 pm local time
- Place
- Penn Yan, New York · Penn Yan Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Grumman G-21A · all G-21As on the register
- Registration
- N327 · registry record · serial 1051
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The purpose of the flight was for the flight instructor to provide multiengine airplane training, in a late 1930's vintage amphibious airplane, to his brother, a single engine airplane rated private pilot. No published performance data was available for the airplane, and according to the flight instructor, much of what he knew about the performance of the airplane he learned from previous flights. Just after takeoff on the accident flight, and about 600 feet above ground level (agl), and as the pilot was retracting the landing gear and starting a left turn to the crosswind leg of the traffic pattern, the flight instructor retarded the right throttle in order to simulate a failure of the right engine. The pilot executed the procedures for an in-flight engine failure and the instructor looked out of the window to check for traffic in the airport traffic pattern. The flight instructor then heard the pilot state "I am at blue line but losing altitude." The flight instructor continued to scan for traffic and moved the right throttle forward to about the "half throttle" position. The pilot could not recall if he had adjusted either of the power controls after the initial application of power for takeoff. The airplane continued to descend, impacted the ground, and caught fire.
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
Flight instructor
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 17,573 hours in all; 46 in this make and model; 190 in the last 90 days; 108 in the last 30 days; 14,304 as pilot in command; 750 on instruments
- Last flight review: November 23, 2004
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: minor injuries
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,834 hours in all; 24 in this make and model; 16 in the last 90 days; 9 in the last 30 days; 1,641 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: August 3, 2003
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,825 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 4, 2005; 3.5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 8,000 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney R-985-AN14B (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: PEO Penn Yan NY at 2:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 19, 5,500 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 13 knots, gusting 18
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 2,300 ft
- Temperature: 41°F (5°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.01 inHg
- Observation at 2:46 pm from PEO, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N327 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.