- Date
- September 17, 1995, 18:15 local (23:15 UTC)
- Place
- Augusta, KS
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N11HMBenham F8L Falco
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 22, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19950917029779A
- Case key
- 10032
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
a sudden shift in wind direction which resulted in diminished airspeed during takeoff.
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 pilot stated that a 90 to 100 degree change in wind direction occurred just after liftoff. His airspeed dropped about 10 knots, and he elected to abort the takeoff because of obstacles off the end of the runway. The airplane traveled off the end of the runway and through a fence prior to coming to rest in a wooded area.
Factual narrative
On September 17, 1995, at 1815 central daylight time, a Benham F8L Falco homebuilt, N11HM, collided with a fence and trees during an aborted takeoff from the Brady-Pippin Field, Augusta, Kansas, while on a personal 14 CFR Part 91 flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the local flight. The airplane was destroyed. The pilot and passenger both reported having received minor injuries. The flight was to have originated at the time of the accident.
The pilot reported that prior to takeoff the winds were from 180 degrees so he elected to use runway 18 for departure. He reported that one to two seconds after liftoff his airspeed decreased from 62 KIAS to 52 KIAS and the right wing dropped. He stated he noted that the midfield windsock was now showing a 90 to 100 degrees shift in the wind direction. He stated that because of obstacles at the end of the airstrip, he elected to abort the takeoff.
The pilot reported that he applied maximum braking; however, the airplane continued off the end of the runway. The airplane traveled through a fence and came to stop in a wooded area off the end of the airstrip.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N11HM
- Reported as
- Benham F8L Falco
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1057
- Airframe hours
- 61
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-B1E, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Howard C. Benham
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 28, 1995 · 61 hours before
- Departed
- KS20
- Destination
- 3AU
- Airport
- KS20 · Brady-Pippin Field, runway 18, 2,500 × 100 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
- 55
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 4,500 total · 70 in this make and model · 4,000 as pilot in command · 90 in the last 90 days · 25 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 8 knots, gusting 10
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.