- Date
- June 9, 2003, 15:30 local (20:30 UTC)
- Place
- Dumas, AR
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N51402Dromader M-18
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 30, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA Little Rock FSDO
- FAA report
- 20030609013389A
- Case key
- 57229
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 delay in aborting the takeoff and his intentional maneuver to avoid the obstruction at the end of the runway. Contributing factors were the road and ditch.
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 when it departed the runway and impacted terrain during an aborted takeoff. The pilot reported, "during takeoff, the wind changed directions and created problems getting the airplane off the ground. At the end of the runway, in [a] last effort, I changed direction of the aircraft crossing a highway and two ditches to a avoid a house." The obstruction was reported as approximately 50 feet from the end of the runway. The pilot stated that the "tail came up a little late", the airplane lifted off, and then started settling. Winds in the area were reported as variable at 3 knots. The pilot reported no anomalies with the aircraft or engine prior to the accident
Factual narrative
On June 9, 2003, at 1530 central daylight time, a Dromader M-18, N51402, sustained substantial damage when it departed the runway and impacted terrain during an aborted takeoff at a private airstrip, (2,600 feet by 100 feet, turf), near Dumas, Arkansas. The pilot reported no injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The agricultural application flight was being operated under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 137 without a flight plan. The flight was originating at the time of the accident.
According to a written statement by the pilot, "during takeoff, the wind changed directions and created problems getting the airplane off the ground. At the end of the runway, in [a] last effort, I changed direction of the aircraft crossing a highway and two ditches to a avoid a house." The obstruction was reported as approximately 50 feet from the end of the runway.
The pilot reported making 12 flights from the same airstrip earlier that day. The pilot noted that on a typical takeoff from the airstrip, the airplane was over halfway down the runway before the airplane began to lift off. On the accident flight, the pilot stated that the "tail came up a little late", the airplane lifted off, and then started settling. The pilot reported that he was concerned that he wouldn't clear the house.
The weather conditions reported at Monticello Municipal Airport, located approximately 24 nautical miles southwest of Dumas, at 1953 were: winds variable at 3 knots; temperature 29 degrees Celsius; dew point 17 degrees Celsius; altimeter 30.00 inches mercury.
The pilot reported no anomalies with the aircraft or engine prior to the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N51402
- Reported as
- Dromader M-18
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1Z-007-17
- Airframe hours
- 5,436
- Engine
- PZL Mielec M-18, 984 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Perkins Aircraft Services Inc, doing business as Perkins Air Service
- Registered owner
- William R. Perkins
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 20, 2003 · 346 hours before
- Departed
- PVT · Dumas, AR
- Airport
- PVT
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
- 24
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- January 29, 2002
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 2,150 total · 275 in this make and model · 2,020 as pilot in command · 250 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LLQ, 24 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.