# Accident 20160330002169A: Beech C23, Frenchville, ME, March 30, 2016

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 30, 2016, 10:30 local time
- Place: Frenchville, ME
- Airport: Frenchville Northern Aroostook
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Takeoff: Departure Roll
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 47.2856° N, 68.3128° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=47.2856&lon=-68.3128&mi=10
- Aircraft: N2397E, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N2397E) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Beech C23 (registry code 1151242, https://openairdocs.org/model/beech-c23) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming O&VO-360 series (registry code 41514, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-vo-360-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BEECH C23
- Reported engine: LYCOMING O&VO-360 SER
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 124 total, 40 in this make and model, 24 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB GAA16CA191](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA16CA191) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20160330002169A

## Narrative

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

PILOT IN COMMAND OF N2397E WAS IN THE TAKE OFF ROLL DEPARTING RUNWAY 14 AT FRENCHVILLE AROOSTOOK RGNL AIRPORT (FVE) LOCATED IN FRENCHVILLE, MAINE, AFTER AN OVERNIGHT SNOW STORM RUNWAY 14/32 WAS MOSTLY WET WITH SOME PATCHES OF DRY PAVEMENT, SLUSH WAS PRESENT TO THE LEFT AND RIGHT OF THE CENTER LINE AS WELL AS PACKED WET SNOW, WHILE IN THE TAKE OFF ROLL THE AIRCRAFT DEPARTED THE LEFT SIDE OF RUNWAY 14 GOING INTO SNOW THAT HAD BEEN PLACED BY RECENT SNOWPLOWING FROM AN OVERNIGHT SNOW STORM, THE NOSE WHEEL OF THE AIRCRAFT THAN STRUCK A SNOW BANK THAT WAS HARDPACKED FROM THE REMNANTS OF PRIOR SNOW REMOVAL FROM PAST WINTER STORMS, THE COLLISION OF THE NOSE WHEEL WITH THE HARD PACKED SNOW BANK CAUSED THE NOSE WHEEL TO FOLD BACK TO THE POINT OF COMING TO REST AGAINST THE BOTTOM OF THE AIRCRAFT FUESELAGE.

## 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 GAA16CA191](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA16CA191), Mar 30, 2016: Beech C23 (N2397E), Frenchville, ME, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the takeoff roll on a runway contaminated with ice and snow, which resulted in a runway excursion and an impact with a snowbank.

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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