- Date
- June 17, 2001, 12:30 local (17:30 UTC)
- Place
- Stratford, WI
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N622GLLarson Murphy Rebel
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 13, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Milwaukee FSDO
- FAA report
- 20010617019029A
- Case key
- 53258
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 abort the takeoff from the farm field. Factors were the tall grass, the rising terrain, the fence, and the inadequate planning/decision by the pilot.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The aircraft sustained substantial damage during an in-flight collision with an electric fence following a takeoff from a farm field. The field used for takeoff had tall grass and rising terrain in the direction of the takeoff. According to the pilot, "after liftoff the aircraft contacted a wire fence which slowed the aircraft down. The aircraft contacted the soft ground and flipped over into its back." In a written report, the pilot indicated that there were no mechanical malfunctions of the aircraft.
Factual narrative
On June 17, 2001, at 1230 central daylight time, an amateur built Larson Murphy Rebel, N622GL, piloted by a private pilot, sustained substantial damage during an in-flight collision with an electric fence, following a takeoff from a field near Stratford, Wisconsin. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was operating under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 and was not on a flight plan. The pilot and one passenger sustained no injuries. The flight was originating at the time of the accident with an intended destination of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
According to the pilot, a precautionary landing was made in a farmers field due to weather conditions. The pilot said that he attempted a takeoff, on another day, and that, "after liftoff the aircraft contacted a wire fence which slowed the aircraft down. The aircraft contacted the soft ground and flipped over into its back." In a written report, the pilot indicated that there were no mechanical malfunctions of the aircraft.
According to a Federal Aviation Administration Inspector, the field used for takeoff had tall grass and rising terrain in the direction of the takeoff.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N622GL
- Reported as
- Larson Murphy Rebel
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 622R3
- Airframe hours
- 150
- Engine
- Continental C-85-8, 85 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Greg Larson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 8, 2000 · 150 hours before
- Departed
- PVT · Stratford, WI
- Destination
- 5N2 · Prentice, WI
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
- 30
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- April 3, 2001
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 670 total · 76 in this make and model · 670 as pilot in command · 21 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.13 inHg
- Observed at
- STE, 33 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.