- Date
- January 6, 2005, 16:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Soperton, GA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N8566EChampion 7FC
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 30, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA - Atlanta FSDO - 11
- FAA report
- 20050106002049A
- Case key
- 60819
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during takeoff roll, which resulted in an on-ground collision with trees. A factor was the pilot's lack of experience in a tailwheel airplane.
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
The pilot stated he initiated a takeoff roll, and the airplane veered to the left. The pilot's attempts to regain control were unsuccessful, and the airplane's left wingtip struck trees along the left edge of the runway. The airplane then spun around the left, and the right wing root and the propeller spinner struck the trees. The pilot stated there was no mechanical malfunction with the airplane. The pilot reported he had not received tailwheel instruction from a certificated flight instructor, and he did not have a tailwheel endorsement. He stated he had accumulated about 0.4 hours in the airplane.
Factual narrative
On January 6, 2005, at 1630 eastern standard time, a Champion 7FC tailwheel conversion, N8566E, registered to and operated by a private owner, collided with trees during takeoff roll at Cauley Airstrip (private) in Soperton, Georgia. The personal flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual meteorological conditioned prevailed. The private pilot reported no injuries, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The local flight was originating at the time of the accident on January 6, 2005.
The pilot stated he applied full throttle and initiated a takeoff roll. The pilot stated that after the tailwheel raised off the ground, the airplane yawed and veered to the left, and the right wing dipped. As the pilot attempted to regain control of the airplane, the left wingtip struck trees along the left edge of the runway. The airplane then spun around the left, and the right wing root and the propeller spinner struck the trees.
Examination of the airplane revealed the left wingtip was damaged, the right wing spar was damaged, and the engine mount was bent. The pilot stated there was no mechanical malfunction with the airplane. The pilot reported he had not received tailwheel instruction from a certificated flight instructor, and he did not have a tailwheel endorsement. He stated he had accumulated about 0.4 hours in the airplane. Cauley Airstrip is approximately 1800 feet long and 150 feet wide.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8566E
- Reported as
- Champion 7FC
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 7FC-354
- Engine
- Continental C-90, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Howard B. Cauley
- Registered owner
- Howard B Cauley
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- 3GA8 · Soperton, GA
- Destination
- 3GA8
- Airport
- 3GA8 · Cauley's Airstrip (private), runway 27, 1,800 × 150 ft, grass/turf
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
- 43
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 272 total · 1 in this make and model · 5 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.