- Date
- April 9, 2005, 09:45 local (14:45 UTC)
- Place
- Mexico, MO
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N11177Champion 7ECA
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 7, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration - St. Louis FSDO
- FAA report
- 20050409009769A
- Case key
- 61421
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 inadvertently using the wrong runway for takeoff, which resulted in a tailwind condition. Factors to the accident were the tailwind, the aborted takeoff, the wet grass runway, and the road embankment.
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 airplane impacted a road embankment during an aborted takeoff. The pilot reported that before he boarded the airplane the winds were "200 degrees at 10 [knots]." The private airstrip consisted of a grass/turf, 1,300 foot long, north/south runway. The pilot stated that his intention was to depart from runway 18, but "because of distraction or whatever" he taxied to runway 36 and initiated the takeoff. The pilot reported, "I knew that I should be airborne or feeling very light by the time that I got to a bump about [halfway] down the runway from either direction. When I got to the bump without the tail coming up and with an indicated airspeed of about 35 mph I knew that something was seriously wrong and knew instantly what the problem was. I was taking-off with the wind." The pilot reported that he aborted the takeoff by reducing engine power to idle and braking. The pilot stated that the grass runway was wet with dew and the aircraft overran the end of the runway, impacting a road embankment.
Factual narrative
On April 9, 2005, at 0945 central daylight time, a Champion 7ECA, N11177, piloted by a private pilot, was substantially damaged when it impacted a road embankment during an aborted takeoff at a private airstrip near Mexico, Missouri. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot and his passenger were not injured. The local area flight was originating at the time of the accident.
The pilot reported that before he boarded the airplane he noticed the wind was "coming from approximately 200 degrees at 10 [knots]." The private airstrip consisted of a grass/turf, 1,300 foot long, north/south runway. The pilot stated that his intention was to depart from runway 18, but "because of distraction or whatever" he taxied to runway 36 and initiated the takeoff.
The pilot reported, "I knew that I should be airborne or feeling very light by the time that I got to a bump about [halfway] down the runway from either direction. When I got to the bump without the tail coming up and with an indicated airspeed of about 35 mph I knew that something was seriously wrong and knew instantly what the problem was. I was taking-off with the wind."
The pilot reported that he aborted the takeoff by reducing engine power to idle and braking. The pilot stated that the grass runway was wet with dew and the aircraft overran the end of the runway, impacting a road embankment.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N11177
- Reported as
- Champion 7ECA
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 7ECA-93
- Airframe hours
- 6,912
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-A2B, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 12, 2004 · 67 hours before
- Departed
- PVT · Mexico, MO
- Destination
- PVT · Mexico, MO
- Airport
- PVT · Private Airstrip, runway 36, 1,320 × 60 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
- 60
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- May 22, 2003
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 600 total · 425 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 13 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.92 inHg
- Observed at
- COU, 28 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.