- Date
- April 25, 1994, 18:18 local (23:18 UTC)
- Place
- Nashville, TN
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N71797Ferguson Fergy II
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 19, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940425009269A
- Case key
- 3376
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 clearance from a utility wire during climbout.
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 the pilot, during the initial climbout from the sod airstrip, he encountered a gust of wind which caused the airplane to collide with a utility line on the departure end of the runway. The nearest weather reporting site reported light winds with no gust. No mechanical problems were reported with the airplane.
Factual narrative
On April 25, 1994, at 1818 central daylight time, a Freguson Fergy II, N71797, collided with utility lines during climbout from a private airstrip near Nashville, Tennessee. The personal flight operated under 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The airplane sustained substantial damage; the pilot was not injured. The flight departed Oakley field in Nashville at 1805 hours.
According to the pilot, during the initial climbout, the airplane encountered a gust of wind that resulted in the left wing colliding with utility lines on the departure end of the Runway 36. Nashville was reporting light winds with no gust at the time of the accident. The pilot did not report a mechanical problem with the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N71797
- Reported as
- Ferguson Fergy II
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Airframe hours
- 225
- Engine
- Rotax 503, 46 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Lawson, Bura V. Jr
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 30, 1993 · 40 hours before
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
- 51
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 300 total · 40 in this make and model · 300 as pilot in command · 40 in the last 90 days · 35 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BNA, 12 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.