Douglas Adventure Air AMPIB accident near Pawtucket, Rhode Island, October 29, 2004
On October 29, 2004 at about 9:00 pm local time, a Douglas Adventure Air AMPIB, an amateur-built aircraft,, registered N469PD, was destroyed in an accident near Pawtucket, Rhode Island (North Central State Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control, which resulted in an inadvertent stall.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 29, 2004 · about 9:00 pm local time
- Place
- Pawtucket, Rhode Island · North Central State Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Douglas Adventure Air AMPIB, amateur-built
- Registration
- N469PD · registry record · serial 102B
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot had completed construction of the accident airplane, and an FAA inspector had approved it for flight and issued a special airworthiness certificate. On the day of the accident, which was the second flight conducted since the construction was completed, witnesses observed the airplane in the airport traffic pattern. As the airplane turned onto the base leg, about 500 feet above the ground, it suddenly "nosed over," and spiraled towards the ground. The witnesses also recalled that the engine "sputtered" just prior to it descending. An additional witness recalled that the engine was "revving at full power" as it descended. The airplane came to rest about 1 mile from the airport, where a post-crash fire consumed the wreckage. According to a statement posted by the accident owner/pilot on a website message board dedicated to Adventurer experimental amphibian airplanes, the pilot stated that he had modified the elevator of the airplane from a 3 degree maximum up angle, to a 18 degree maximum up angle for the accident flight, "to see if I have leveled out the wings, and if I can get sufficient elevator up travel to climb out of the airport at 90mph." Examination of the wreckage revealed that the airplane's automotive type engine was extensively damaged by the post-crash fire, and further examination could not be performed. Also noted were several socks filled with steel ball bearings, weighing approximately 25 pounds, and 1 or 2-50-pound bags of ballast in the wreckage. The exact location of where the socks and ballast were stationed during the flight could not be determined.
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: 292 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 3,000 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Chevrolet ZZ4 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: SFZ Pawtucket RI
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.97 inHg
- Observation at 8:55 pm from SFZ
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.