20110820020549I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Smith Dane E ZENITH CH 701 · Piedmont, SC · August 20, 2011

Date
August 20, 2011 · 13:30 local
Place
Piedmont, SC
Airport
Private
Phase of flight
Takeoff: Climb Out
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Minor damage
Aircraft
N5499
Reported as
Smith Dane E Zenith CH 701
Reported engine
Amateur-built UNKNOWN ENG
People aboard
1
Fatal injuries
0
Other injuries
0
Pilot’s certificate
Private pilot
Pilot’s flight hours
302 total2 in this make and model2 in the last 90 days

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

Upon take-off aircraft did not clear the trees at the end of the 700 foot Private runway and landed in the canopy of the trees. The aircraft sustained minor damage and the pilot was not injured.

As the FAA filed it

UPON TAKE-OFF AIRCRAFT DID NOT CLEAR THE TREES AT THE END OF THE 700 FOOT PRIVATE RUNWAY AND LANDED IN THE CANOPY OF THE TREES. THE AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED MINOR DAMAGE AND THE PILOT WAS NOT INJURED.