# Accident 20031213035169A: Amtr SE5A, Rio Hondo, TX, December 13, 2003

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 13, 2003, 09:59 local time
- Place: Rio Hondo, TX
- Airport: Texas Dusting Service Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: To Init Climb(1st Pwr Reduct)
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 26.2286° N, 97.5606° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=26.2286&lon=-97.5606&mi=10
- Aircraft: N42LB, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N42LB-2009-07-01) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Bull Leonard J SE5-A (registry code 0566448, https://openairdocs.org/model/bull-leonard-j-se5-a) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AMTR SE5A
- Reported engine: LYC O290*
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 14,000 total, 21 in this make and model, 50 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW04LA041](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW04LA041) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20031213035169A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(-23) ON DECEMBER 13, 2003, AT APPROXIMATELY 9:59 A.M. CENTRAL STANDARD TIME, AN AMATEUR BUILT, SINGLE PLACE, SE5A REPLICA, CRASHED DURING TAKEOFF. THE PILOT WAS PARTICIPATING IN A WORLD WAR I REENACTMENT DEMONSTRATION AT THE TEXAS AIR MUSEUM (XS63) LOCATED IN RIO HONDO, TEXAS. THE PILOT SUSTAINED SERIOUS INJURIES AND THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED. ALTHOUGH THE WIND AT THE HARLINGEN AIRPORT (HRL), LOCATED FIVE MILES WEST, WAS 360 DEGREES AT 14 KNOTS, THE PILOT ELECTED TO DEPART DOWNWIND ON RUNWAY 17. A TEXAS DPS TROOPER AT THE SCENE STATED THAT THE WINDS WERE VERY STRONG AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. MULTIPLE EYEWITNESSES REPORTED THAT THE AIRCRAFT BECAME AIRBORNE BUT DID NOT APPEAR TO ATTAIN FLYING SPEED. THEY FURTHER STATED THAT SHORTLY AFTER LIFTOFF THE AIRCRAFT SETTLED ABRUPTLY CONTACTING THE GROUND JUST TO THE RIGHT OF THE RUNWAY. SOME EYEWITNESSES STATED THAT THE AIRCRAFT CONTACTED THE GROUND HARD ENOUGH TO BREAK THE RIGHT MAIN LANDING GEAR. THE AIRCRAFT BECAME AIRBORNE A SECOND TIME BUT AGAIN APPEARED TO BE FLYING SLOW AND "MUSHING" WITH THE NOSE HIGH. THE AIRCRAFT CONTINUED FLIGHT AND BEGAN A LEFT TURN. THEN THE AIRCRAFT APPEARED TO STALL CONTACTING THE GROUND IN A NOSE AND LEFT WING LOW ATTITUDE. THE EYEWITNESSES INDICATED THAT THE ENGINE SEEMED TO BE OPERATING NORMAL.

## 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 FTW04LA041](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW04LA041), Dec 13, 2003: Bull SE5-A (N42LB), Rio Hondo, TX, destroyed. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain control of the tailwheel equipped airplane during takeoff. Contributing factors were the pilot's selection of the wrong runway for takeoff and the prevailing tailwind.

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.

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