- Date
- April 28, 2010, 16:10 local (21:10 UTC)
- Place
- Highland, IL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N400HKHoac-Austria HK 36R Super Dimona
- Defining event
- Takeoff-rejected takeoff: Collision during takeoff/land
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 19, 2011
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20100428031719A
- Case key
- 75902
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 inadequate preflight planning and his delayed aborted 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 pilot was attempting a takeoff when the powered glider's acceleration seemed slower than normal. The pilot attributed the slower acceleration to the soft turf of the runway. He stated that the glider was unable to attain takeoff speed and that he made his decision to abort the takeoff too late. The glider then overran the runway and ground-looped when it hit a ditch. The glider sustained substantial damage, which included structural damage to the fuselage in the areas between the cabin and empennage and the left landing gear strut. The pilot and passenger were uninjured. The pilot's last flight review was not current and was reported as having been last completed on September 6, 2008.
Factual narrative
The pilot was attempting a takeoff on runway 18 (2,692 by 200 feet, turf) when the powered glider's acceleration "seemed" slower than normal. The pilot attributed the slower acceleration to the soft turf of the runway. The pilot stated that the glider was unable to attain takeoff speed, and the decision to abort the takeoff was made too late. The glider then overran the runway and ground looped when it hit a ditch. The glider sustained substantial damage, which included structural damage to the fuselage in the areas between the cabin and empennage and the left landing gear strut. The pilot and passenger were uninjured. The pilot's last flight review was not current and was reported as having been last completed on September 6, 2008.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N400HK
- Reported as
- Hoac-Austria HK 36R Super Dimona
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 36400
- Airframe hours
- 1,504
- Engine
- Rotax 912, 80 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Pilot
- Registered owner
- Howard Burhanna III / Gene Franklin
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 14, 2009
- Departed
- H07 · Highland, IL
- Destination
- St. Jacob, IL
- Airport
- H07 · Highland-Winet Airport, runway 18, 2,692 × 200 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
- 67
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Last flight review
- September 6, 2008
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,223 total · 95 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 7,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.89 inHg
- Observed at
- BLV, 17 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 15, 2011, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 567 KB 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.
Other investigations on N400HK · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.