American AA-1 accident near Sarasota, Florida, September 10, 1995
On September 10, 1995 at about 8:15 pm local time, a American AA-1, registered N112FA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Sarasota, Florida (Hiden River Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO ABORT THE TAKEOFF RESULTING IN A PREMATURE TAKEOFF, AND SUBSEQUENT IN-FLIGHT COLLISION WITH TERRAIN. THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO PERFORM THE NECESSARY PERFORMANCE DATA COMPUTATIONS FOR THE FLIGHT AND HIS DIVERTED ATTENTION DUE TO CONVERSATION WITH THE PASSENGER WERE FACTORS.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 10, 1995 · about 8:15 pm local time
- Place
- Sarasota, Florida · Hiden River Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- American AA-1 · all AA-1s on the register
- Registration
- N112FA · registry record · serial AA1-0025
- 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 during the takeoff roll he realized that there was insufficient runway to complete the takeoff. He was distracted by conversations with the passenger and made no attempt to abort the takeoff. He prematurely lifted the airplane off the runway and climbed to about 20 to 30 feet. The airplane did not accelerate, collided with trees, and crashed. No performance planning was performed for the flight.
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: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,762 hours in all; 180 in this make and model; 51 in the last 90 days; 22 in the last 30 days; 5,297 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 25, 1995
- Maximum gross weight: 1,465 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-C2C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 61X at 8:14 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 27, 2,525 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 230° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 10,000 ft
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 75°F (24°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:47 pm from SRQ, 15 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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 MIA95LA219.