- Date
- September 17, 2000, 12:26 local (18:26 UTC)
- Place
- Las Cruces, NM
- Injuries
- 2 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N14774Bellanca 17-30A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 2, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20000917014459A
- Case key
- 50271
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 lateral clearance with terrain. Factors were the confined area used for takeoff, and the high vegetation alongside the road.
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 ranch foreman told the pilot that the airstrip had not been 'bladed or rolled' in 3 years, and suggested he take off from a nearby road. The pilot walked along 4,000 feet of the road, and determined it was suitable for departure. A short field takeoff was attempted into a 5 to 7 knot headwind. As the airplane lifted off the road, the left wing struck a mesquite brush, spinning it around.
Factual narrative
On September 17, 2000, at 1226 mountain daylight time, Bellanca 17-30A, N14774, registered to and operated by the pilot, was substantially damaged when it struck a bush during takeoff roll near Las Cruces, New Mexico. The commercial pilot was not injured, but his two passengers received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the personal flight being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight was originating at the time of the accident.
According to the pilot's accident report, he had made an uneventful landing on a dirt airstrip next to a ranch earlier that morning. After conducting business, and in preparation for departure, the ranch foreman advised the pilot that the airstrip had not been "bladed or rolled" in 3 years. He suggested he take off from a nearby road. A realtor added, "Everyone uses the road." The pilot walked along 4,000 feet of the road, and determined it was suitable for departure. A short field takeoff was attempted into a 5 to 7 knot headwind. As the airplane lifted off the road, "the left wing struck something, spinning [the airplane] around in [a] complete circle."
According to the FAA inspector who went to the accident site, the airplane veered to the left during takeoff and struck a mesquite bush. It then traveled 336 feet through the air, struck the ground, spun around 720 degrees, and skidded to a halt 1,947 feet from the start of the takeoff roll and 50 feet left of the roadside.
The inspector said it appeared "the pilot failed to apply sufficient right rudder at liftoff to maintain directional control," allowing the airplane to "drift left sufficient[ly] for the left wing to strike the mesquite bush branch." The pilot said he should not have heeded the advice of the realtor.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N14774
- Reported as
- Bellanca 17-30A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 74-30617
- Airframe hours
- 2,205
- Engine
- Continental IO-520-K, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Stephen D. Ulsan
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 23, 2000 · 46 hours before
- Departed
- NONE
- Destination
- ELP · El Paso, TX
- Airport
- NONE · Ez Heart Ranch
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
- 62
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 8,386 total · 250 in this make and model · 8,000 as pilot in command · 30 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 170° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ELP, 46 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.