- Date
- August 18, 2003, 14:30 local (18:30 UTC)
- Place
- Timberlake, NC
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N240AWilliam Allen MONI-1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 1, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Greensboro FSDO
- FAA report
- 20030818021159A
- Case key
- 57770
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
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Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed which resulted in a stall and subsequent collision with the ground.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
According to a witness, approximately 500 feet past the departure end of the runway, the airplane banked steeply to the left. The witness stated he "could see the entire top of the airplane. Then the airplane turned nose down and spun about one rotation to the left and impacted the ground". Examination of the downed airplane found it in a nose down attitude at the accident site.
Factual narrative
On August 18, 2003, at 1430 eastern daylight time William Allen Moni-1, N240A an experimental airplane owned and operated by a commercial pilot collided with the ground shortly after takeoff from runway 6, at the Roxboro Person County Airport Timberlake, North Carolina. The personal flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91, and visual flight rules. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The commercial pilot received serious injuries and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight originated from Timberlake, North Carolina, on August 18, 2003, at 1425.
In a written statement provided by the commercial pilot he stated "I remember nothing of the flight or accident; so I can provide no insight into the actual events of the accident".
According to a witness, the airplane took off from runway 6, and approximately 150 feet above the ground, the witness heard the engine power back and then advance in power. Approximately 500 feet past the departure end of the runway, the airplane banked steeply to the left. The witness stated he "could see the entire top of the airplane. Then the airplane turned nose down and spun about one rotation to the left and collided with the ground". According to the witness, he heard the engine running during the entire flight.
Examination of the downed airplane found it in a nose down attitude at the accident site. Wreckage debris was scattered in the immediate vicinity of the main wreckage. The inboard spars of both wings were damaged. The cowling had crush damage, and the cockpit plexiglass canopy was broken. The wooden propeller asembly was broken.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N240A
- Reported as
- William Allen MONI-1
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 003
- Airframe hours
- 60
- Engine
- KFM 107, 25 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · August 17, 2003 · 0 hours before
- Departed
- TDF · Timberlake, NC
- Destination
- TDF · Timberlake, NC
- Airport
- TDF · Pearson City, runway 06, 5,700 × 100 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 60
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- October 30, 2002
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 4,456 total · 12 in this make and model · 4,400 as pilot in command · 35 in the last 90 days · 12 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 0° at 0 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 72 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.02 inHg
- Observed at
- RDU, 50 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.