20240601010289A

On June 1, 2024, at approximately 1515 EDT, an Aeronca 11AC, experienced a runway excursion during takeoff. Weather conditions-no factor-vmc, winds 6 knot variable, 80 degrees f. runway conditions-no factor, dry. The aircraft veered off the northwest side of the runway, approximately 1,000 ft from the departure end of runway 5 into a wheat field, subsequently flipping over. PIC was removed from the aircraft post-crash with no injuries and transported to the hospital as a precautionary measure and released shortly after. The aircraft sustained substantial damage. Roc FSDO ASI and iic, was present at airport during the time of the accident but did not witness the event. Iic initiated the preliminary stages of the investigation shortly after accident. Aircraft was inspected following the accident, and photographs were taken to document the scene. Verified that aircraft was configured for takeoff w/ full throttle, mags hot, fuel on, trim set. This aircraft does not have flaps or cockpit controllable mixture setting. Following post-accident inspection, the magnetos were turned off, ELT was deactivated, and the aircraft was recovered from the runway area and relocated to the main hangar. Further inspection of the aircraft revealed the following damage: impact damage to both propeller tips: splintered wood, missing material, and leading-edge delamination. Inpact damge-nose bowl: denting below the prop on the right side of the airbox and on the left side just below the cylinder ram air inlet. Impact damage to the right forward and aft wing lift strut: forward strut buckled in two spots, approximately three feet outboard of fuselage attach fitting and just inboard of forward jury strut. Aft strut buckled approximately three feet inboard of wing attach fitting. Impact damaged-rudder: rudder horn bent down and forward, extending into the plane of vertical stab, limiting full rudder travel. Impact damage-airbox/carburetor/intake manifold-carburetor and airbox assembly sheared from intake manifold. Left side lap belt cut to evacuate PIC post-crash. No other issues with the aircraft were noted. The airworthiness certificate and registration were current. Flight and engine controls were checked for continuity and travel, with no issues found. Visually inspected main landing gear, wheels, brakes, and tail wheel-no defects noted. An inspection of the aircraft logbooks confirmed that all inspections were up to date, no applicable ad's, major repairs, or alterations were noted, and no open discrepancies. Reviewed flight log, and airman info. PIC has current private pilot certificate w/ asel ratings and a current medical, basicmed. Review of his flight log revealed a current bfr and tailwheel endorsement. He has accumulated approximately 230 total hrs, w/ approx. 30 hrs in make/model and approx. 4.5 hours in the past 90 days. Interviewed PIC, who provided account of the accident that occurred on Saturday, June 1st and reaffirmed that he had not noticed any performance issues and that the aircraft was operating within normal ranges during flight prior to accident on June 1st. He stated that during his pre-flight run-up on June 1st, the mags, carb heat, oil temp and pressure, static RPM were all checked w/ satisfactory results. He stated that the brakes were fully operational, the aircraft was controllable on the ground and in the air and there were no abnormal flight characteristics during operation, prior to accident on June 1st. PIC concluded that the cause of the accident was solely his loss of directional control and his rejected take-off procedure.