# Accident 20000917014459A: Blanca 1730A, Las Cruces, NM, September 17, 2000 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: September 17, 2000, 12:26 local time - Place: Las Cruces, NM - Airport: Ez Heart Ranch - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Takeoff Ground Roll - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 32.3123° N, 106.7783° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Las Cruces, NM, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.3123&lon=-106.7783&mi=10 - Aircraft: N14774, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N14774-2001-04-19) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Bellanca 17-30A (registry code 1220433, https://openairdocs.org/model/bellanca-17-30a) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: BLANCA 1730A - Reported engine: CONT IO520K - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 8,386 total, 250 in this make and model, 30 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB DEN00LA174](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN00LA174) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000917014459A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23) ON SEPTEMBER 17, 2000, AT APPROX. 1226 MDT, A BELLANCA, BE-17-30A, N14774 STRUCK A MESQUITE BUSH THEN CRASHED ON TAKEOFF FROM A DIRT ROAD ON THE EZ HEART RANCH 11 MILES SOUTH OF LAS CRUCES INT'L AIRPORT, LAS CRUCES, NM. THE A/C SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. THE PILOT AND TWO PASSENGERS RECEIVED MINOR BUMPS AND BRUISES. (.4) ON SEPTEMBER 17, 2000, AT 1226 MOUNTAIN DAYLIGHT TIME, BELLANCA 17-30A, N14774, REGISTERED TO AND OPERATED BY THE PILOT, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED WHEN IT STRUCK A TREE DURING TAKEOFF ROLL NEAR LAS CRUCES, NEW MEXICO. THE COMMERCIAL PILOT AND TWO PASSENGERS WERE NOT INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED FOR THE PERSONAL FLIGHT BEING CONDUCTED UNDER TITLE 14 CFR PART 91. THE FLIGHT WAS ORIGINATING AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT'S ACCIDENT REPORT, HE HAD MADE AN UNEVENTFUL LANDING ON A DIRT AIRSTRIP NEXT TO A RANCH EARLIER THAT MORNING. AFTER CONDUCTIN BUSINESS, AND IN PREPARATION FOR DEPARTURE, THE RANCH FOREMAN ADVISED THE PILOT THAT THE AIRSTRIP HAD NOT BEEN "BLADED OR ROLLED" IN 3 YEARS. HE SUGGESTED HE TAKE OFF FROM A NEARBY ROAD. A REALTOR ADDED, "EVERYONE USES THE ROAD". THE PILOT WALKED ALONG 4,000 FEET OFF OF THE ROAD, AND DETERMINED IT WAS SUITABLE FOR THE DEPARTURE. A SHORT FIELD TAKEOFF WAS ATTEMPTED INTO A 5 TO 7 KNOT HEADWIND. AS THE A/C LIFTED OFF THE ROAD, "THE LEFT WING STRUCK SOMETHING, SPINNING (THE AIRPLANE) AROUND IN (A) COMPLETE CIRCLE." ACCORDING TO THE FAA INSPECTOR WHO WENT TO THE ACCIDENT SITE, THE AIRPLANE VEERED TO THE LEFT DURING TAKEOFF AND STRUCK A MESQUITE BUSH. IT THEN TRAVELED 336 FEET THROUGH THE AIR, STRUCK THE GROUND, SPUN AROUND 720 DEGREES, AND SKIDDED TO A HALT 1,947 FEET FROM THE START OF THE TAKEOFF ROLL AND 50 FEET LEFT OF THE ROADSIDE. THE INSPECTOR SAID IT APPEARED "THE PILOT FAILED TO APPLY SUFFICIENT RIGHT RUDDER AT LIFTOFF TO MAINTAIN DIRECTIONAL CONTROL, "ALLOWING THE AIRPLANE TO "DRIFT LEFT SUFFICIENTLY FOR THE LEFT WING TO STRIKE THE MESQUITE BUSH BRANCH."THE PILOT SAID HE SHOULD NOT HAVE HEEDED THE ADVICE OF THE REALTOR. ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB DEN00LA174](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN00LA174), Sep 17, 2000: Bellanca 17-30A (N14774), Las Cruces, NM, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain lateral clearance with terrain. Factors were the confined area used for takeoff, and the high vegetation alongside the road. From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.