- Date
- May 15, 2024, 17:30 local (22:30 UTC)
- Place
- Sealy, TX
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N74887Cessna 170
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Loss of control on ground
- 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
- FAA Houston FSDO
- FAA report
- 20240515007989A
- Case key
- 194283
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 during the takeoff, that resulted in an impact with a tree and the ground.
Findings · 4
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 during the takeoff from the turf runway with a crosswind present, he advanced the throttle “a little too fast.” As the tail of the airplane lifted off the ground, the pilot admitted he failed to apply “consistent” right rudder. The pilot closed the throttle and applied the brakes; however the left wing impacted a tree, the airplane spun to the left, and the right wing and the right elevator impacted the ground. The airplane came to rest upright in a ditch, and all three occupants were able to egress from the airplane without further incident. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, both wings, and the right elevator. The pilot reported there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane. At the time of the accident, the airplane was 59 pounds below the maximum gross weight. The estimated density altitude for the closest meteorological reporting station, near the time of the accident, was 2,711 ft above mean sea level.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N74887
- Reported as
- Cessna 170 (B)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 25853
- Built
- 1953
- Airframe hours
- 4,099.22
- Engine
- Continental Motors O-300D, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 8, 2024 · 7.6 hours before
- Airport
- 1XA7 · Gloster Aerodrome, runway 02/20, 3,292 × 70 ft, grass/turf
- Equipment
- 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
- 56
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- November 11, 2022
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 835 total · 10 in this make and model · 731 as pilot in command · 17 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 7 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 91 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.77 inHg
- Observed at
- KTME, 9 nm away
- METAR
- KTME 152215Z AUTO 16007G15KT 10SM CLR 33/19 A2977 RMK AO2
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 13, 2024, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 5.5 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.