Amateur-built MONNETT MONI accident near Hollis, New Hampshire, August 9, 1997
On August 9, 1997 at about 3:37 pm local time, a amateur-built MONNETT MONI, registered N2400M, was destroyed in an accident near Hollis, New Hampshire (Pepperell 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 adequate airspeed which resulted in an inadvertent stall spin and collision with terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 9, 1997 · about 3:37 pm local time
- Place
- Hollis, New Hampshire · Pepperell Airport
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built MONNETT MONI MONNETT MO
- Registration
- N2400M · no longer on the register · serial 099
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
An FAA Inspector who witnessed the takeoff said the airplane 'lumbered' into the air. A witness on the river adjacent to the departure airport said his attention was drawn to the airplane by the increasing and decreasing engine noise and that nothing appeared wrong with the airplane. The pilot appeared to alternately lose and regain aircraft control. Approximately 400 feet above the ground, the engine accelerated to 'full throttle', the nose pitched up, and the airplane rolled inverted and descended into terrain. The engine did not stop producing power until the airplane was inverted and the nose had descended below the tail. Three weeks before the accident, the pilot logged .8 hours of dual instruction in a Cessna 152. Prior to that flight, the pilot had not flown in 14 months. The pilot had approximately 10 hours flight experience in the accident airplane. Prior to the accident flight, he had not flown the airplane in 2 years.
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: 1,372 hours in all; 10 in this make and model; 1 in the last 90 days; 1 in the last 30 days; 1,343 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 21 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, May 29, 1986; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 450 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Kfm 107 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MA09 Pepperell MA at 2:35 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 6, 2,820 ft by 25 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 5 knots
- Visibility: 25 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 15,000 ft; scat at 5,000 ft
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:47 pm from ASH, 5 miles away
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.