- Date
- May 11, 2013, 11:50 local (16:50 UTC)
- Place
- Groesbeck, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N1752VCessna 140
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 29, 2013
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA Dallas FSDO
- FAA report
- 20130511007039A
- Case key
- 86895
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 control of the airplane during an aborted takeoff.
Findings · 2
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 reported that he departed from a grass runway with a tailwind of about 8 knots. After the airplane became airborne about midfield, he was unsure of the climb performance so he decided to abort the takeoff. During the landing, the pilot did not maintain control of the airplane, and the airplane nosed over, resulting in substantial damage to the engine mount, lower fuselage, one wing and the vertical fin and rudder. The pilot also reported that there were no preimpact malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. He added that the four-point shoulder harness saved him from injury.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that he was taking off on the grass runway with a tailwind of about 8 knots. After the airplane became airborne about midfield he had a question on climb performance and decided to abort the takeoff. During the abort, control was lost and the airplane flipped inverted resulting in substantial damage to the engine mount, lower fuselage, one wing and the vertical fin and rudder. He credited the four-point shoulder harness installation with saving him from injury. The pilot also reported that there was no preimpact malfunction or failure.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1752V
- Reported as
- Cessna 140
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 14081
- Airframe hours
- 4,292
- Engine
- Cont Motor C85 SERIES, 85 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 22, 2013 · 7 hours before
- Departed
- NONE · Groesbeck, TX
- Destination
- 0TE4 · Hilltop Lakes, TX
- Airport
- NONE · Fort Parker Flying Field, runway 17, 2,000 × 75 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
- 69
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- November 14, 2012
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 4,962 total · 133 in this make and model · 4,811 as pilot in command · 50 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 14, 2013, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.0 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.