20191011022052A

On Friday October 11, 2019, at approximately 7:00 p.m. eastern daylight time, a 1967 de havilland, model DHC-6 twin otter with registration N166DH sustained minor damage as a result of a ground collision with N540ML, a 2008 panzl S330, at the Cedartown (4A4) airport in Cedartown, Georgia. There were 11 persons on board N166DH and 1 persons on N540ML with no injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. This was a personal flight being conducted under the provisions of title 14 code of federal regulations part 91.

On Saturday October 12, 2019 an FAA inspector from the atlanta FSDO travelled to the Cedartown airport to perform an assessment of the aircraft damage and to determine the root cause of the accident. Initial assessment of N166DH revealed minor damage to the left landing gear fairing. No other damage was observed. The pilot in command (PIC) of N166DH stated that he just loaded up 10 skydiver passengers and was taxing to runway 10. As he was taxing he noticed that the runway lights had been turned on, so he began to scan the area for approaching aircraft. Once lined up on runway 10, the PIC stated that he performed a final scan of the area and immediately began his takeoff roll. As the aircraft was about to lift off the PIC of N166DH noticed a small aircraft and immediately pulled up on the yoke to try an avoid hitting it. Unfortunately, the left main landing gear of the N166DH struck and sheared off the left wing of N540ML. An examination of the runway did reveal a slight dip in the pavement approximately 3000' from the approach end. This depression was near the location of impact that could create a temporary blind spot. The PIC stated that he did not recall the current wind conditions during his takeoff. A review of the current METAR data showed that at the time of the accident winds were out of the south to south east from 3-6 miles per hour.