Amateur-built Spezio Sport DAL-1 accident near Sarasota, Florida, October 11, 2006
On October 11, 2006 at about 10:30 pm local time, a amateur-built Spezio Sport DAL-1, registered N777WH, was substantially damaged in an accident near Sarasota, Florida (Hidden River Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed, resulting in an inadvertent stall / mush and impact with objects (a tree and a fence) before ground impact.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 11, 2006 · about 10:30 pm local time
- Place
- Sarasota, Florida · Hidden River Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Spezio Sport DAL-1
- Registration
- N777WH · no longer on the register · serial HO-119
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot stated that he was conducting high speed taxi runs for a functional check of the rudder and tail wheel after replacement of a component. On one of the runs, the airplane lifted off and drifted to the right at which point he elected to fly the airplane in the pattern and land. During his first attempt to land the sink rate was more than what he had expected and he elected to perform a go-around. During the second approach he let the airplane get too slow in a nose high attitude. The airplane stalled. He lost control of the airplane; the right wing impacted a tree and clipped a steel gate, separating the landing gear before slamming down on the pavement. The airplane then slid on the pavement into a gate before stopping. The pilot stated there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions to the airplane or any of its systems prior to the accident.
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
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 302 hours in all; 2 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-290-D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 22FA Sarasota FL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 27
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 280° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.85 inHg
- Observation at 6:53 pm from KSRQ
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.
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.