- Date
- May 12, 2022, 14:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Port Bolivar, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N9380GCessna 182P
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Dragged wing/rotor/float/other
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration; Houston FSDO
- Case key
- 105078
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 attain a proper soft field takeoff pitch attitude during takeoff that resulted in a runway excursion and subsequent impact with a canal.
Findings · 1
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 was attempting a soft field takeoff from a grass/dirt runway when the right elevator struck the ground. The airplane veered to the right, and the pilot applied corrective aileron and rudder control inputs and continued the takeoff. As the airplane approached the runway departure end, the pilot pulled back on the control yoke to get the airplane airborne. The pilot was unable to get the airplane airborne and it impacted and became partially submersed in a saltwater canal at the departure end of the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine firewall, left wing, and right elevator. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operations. The pilot reported that he did not hear or feel the impact of the elevator with the ground when the elevator struck the ground.
Factual narrative
The private pilot of the personal flight stated that he was attempting a soft field takeoff from a grass/dirt runway when the right elevator struck the ground. The airplane veered to the right, and the pilot applied corrective aileron and rudder control inputs while he continued the takeoff. The pilot did not hear or feel the impact of the elevator with the ground and continued the takeoff. As the airplane approached the runway departure end, the pilot pulled back on the control yoke to get the airplane airborne. The pilot was unable to get the airplane airborne and it impacted and became partially submersed in a saltwater canal at the departure end of the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine firewall, left wing, and right elevator. The pilot stated there was no mechanical malfunction/failure of the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9380G
- Reported as
- Cessna 182P
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18260920
- Built
- 1971
- Airframe hours
- 4,713
- Engine
- Continental O-470-R, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 16, 2022
- Departed
- XS77 · Crystal Beach, TX
- Destination
- XS09 · New Waverly, TX
- Airport
- XS77 · Seafood Warehouse Park Airport, runway 12, 2,200 × 75 ft, grass/turf
- Equipment
- Auto-pilot, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, ADS-B
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
- 38
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- November 15, 2021
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 914 total · 145 in this make and model · 839 as pilot in command · 13 in the last 90 days · 9 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 140° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.04 inHg
- Observed at
- GLS, 17 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 27, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.6 MB in all.