- Date
- October 9, 2009, 10:10 local (16:10 UTC)
- Place
- Alamosa, CO
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N59JTFranklin Pitts Special S-1
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 3, 2010
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- FAA report
- 20091009020019A
- Case key
- 74917
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 on takeoff.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The commercial pilot was taking off in his single-engine tail wheel-equipped airplane, when veered to the left at a high rate of speed shortly after the tail wheel came up off the ground. The airplane went off the side of the runway and struck a runway light with the lower left wing causing substantial damage. Examination of the airplane by maintenance personnel found no pre mishap anomalies. The winds were calm at the time of the accident.
Factual narrative
The commercial pilot was taking off in his single-engine tail wheel-equipped airplane, when it veered to the left at a high rate of speed shortly after the tail wheel came up off the ground. The airplane went off the side of the runway and struck a runway light with the lower left wing causing substantial damage. Examination of the airplane by maintenance personnel found no pre mishap anomalies. The winds were calm at the time of the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N59JT
- Reported as
- Franklin Pitts Special S-1
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 7-0187
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Ferdinand E. de Souza
- Registered owner
- Ferdinand E. de Souza
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- ALS · Alamosa, CO
- Destination
- ALS · Alamosa, CO
- Flight plan
- Unknown
- Airport
- ALS · Alamosa, runway 20
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
- 56
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2
- Flight hours
- 3,135 total · 87 in this make and model · 3,065 as pilot in command · 48 in the last 90 days · 29 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 1, 2009, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.3 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.