- Date
- April 12, 2006, 12:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- Drayton, ND
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N2555PPiper PA-22-150
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 31, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20060412005969A
- Case key
- 63649
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 takeoff. A related factor was the high wind condition.
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 tailwheel airplane, piloted by a student pilot, veered off runway 35 during takeoff after the wind lifted the wing of the airplane. Recorded winds, 12 nautical miles northeast of the accident airport, were 290 degrees at 21 knots with gusts of 25 knots. There was no record of a student pilot endorsement for solo flight.
Factual narrative
On April 12, 2006, at 1200 central daylight time, a Piper PA-22-150, N2555P, owned and piloted by a student pilot, received substantial damage on impact with terrain during takeoff when the airplane veered off runway 35 (2,600 feet by 60 feet) at Drayton Municipal Airport (D29), Drayton, North Dakota. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight was not operating on a flight plan. The pilot was uninjured. The flight was departing at the time of the accident and was returning to Hallock Municipal Airport (HCO), Hallock, Minnesota.
The pilot stated that the wind lifted the wing but by the time he was able to get the wing lowered, the airplane skidded off the eastern edge of the runway.
The HCO Automated Weather Observing System, located 12 nautical miles northeast of D29, recorded at 1156, wind 290 degrees at 21 knots with gusts of 25 knots.
According to the on-scene Federal Aviation Administration inspector, the pilot stated that his wallet containing his airman medical certificate fell into the water at the accident site, and the pilot had no idea if it had a current student solo endorsement. When the pilot was asked who his instructor was, he responded by saying that he did not remember.
The last entry in the pilot's logbook was dated January 27, 2006, with the following entry: "intro to multiengine." The two previous entries were dated June 26, 2004, and July 18, 2003. The logbook did not contain a current student solo endorsement.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2555P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-22-150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 22-2889
- Engine
- Textron Lycoming O-320, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Pilot
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- HCO · Hallock, MN
- Destination
- D29 · Drayton, ND
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
- 54
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 35 total · 20 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.