# NTSB DEN02LA099: Hildebrandt Rutan/Defiant, N219DF, Erie, CO, August 20, 2002 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: August 20, 2002, 10:45 local (16:45 UTC) - Place: Erie, CO - Coordinates: 40.010276, -105.047775 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.0103&lon=-105.0478&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Takeoff](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/300) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report December 6, 2002 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FAA Flight Standards District Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 55563 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=DEN02LA099 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/55563/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN02LA099 ## Probable cause failure of the normal braking system, resulting in the airplane departing the end of the runway. A contributing factor was the airplane's slow acceleration during the takeoff roll. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - On ground/water encounter with terrain/water, takeoff - aborted - aborted takeoff - attempted, pilot in command - airspeed - low (contributing factor) - landing gear,normal brake system - failure (cause) ## Analysis The pilot was taking off on runway 15. Power was applied to the rear engine, followed by power application to the forward engine. The airplane accelerated "slower than usual" and when the airplane was halfway down the runway, the pilot rejected the takeoff because he "couldn't rotate the airplane...it seemed to require more back pressure...it didn't seem right." Power was retarded to idle and brakes applied, but they didn't seem to have any effect. The airplane went off the end of the runway and traveled 500 feet across rough terrain, collapsing the nose landing gear and bending its fairing, and crushing the "Rhino" rudder and engine cowling. The propeller was also bent. A dowel from the left wheel pant was found about halfway down the runway. ## Factual narrative On August 20, 2002, at 1045 mountain daylight time, a Hildebrandt Rutan Defiant, N219DF, was substantially damaged when it collided with terrain during a rejected takeoff at Erie Airpark, Erie, Colorado. The private pilot and one passenger were not injured. Day 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. The following is based on a telephone interview with the pilot shortly after the accident, and the accident report he submitted. The pilot was taking off on runway 15. Power was applied to the rear engine, followed by power application to the forward engine. The airplane accelerated "slower than usual" and when the airplane was halfway down the runway, he elected to reject the takeoff. The pilot said he "couldn't rotate the airplane...it seemed to require more back pressure...it didn't seem right." He retarded power to both engines to idle and applied brakes. "The brakes seemed to grab at first, but then had no effect," he wrote. The pilot retarded the mixtures. The airplane went off the end of the runway and traveled 500 feet across rough terrain, collapsing the nose landing gear and bending the fairing. According to an FAA inspector who examined the airplane, the "Rhino" rudder and the engine cowling were crushed and the propeller was bent. The pilot said the fixed base operator's mechanic found a dowel from the left wheel pant about halfway down the runway. "I believe this may have contributed to my slower than usual takeoff roll. The calipers and linings on the brakes were fresh, I had just had them rebuilt/replaced," the pilot wrote. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N219DF](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N219DF-2015-05-20), registration cancelled 2015-05-20, S/N 039 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Hildebrandt Rutan/Defiant - Registry model: [Hildebrant Earl L DEFIANT RUTAN](https://openairdocs.org/model/hildebrant-earl-l-defiant-rutan) (registry code 05690N7) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 039 - Engines: Lycoming O-360-A1A 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Gregory A. Benson - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Departed: 48V, Erie, CO - Destination: 4V1, Walsenburg, CO - Airport: 48V, Tri-County, runway 15, 4,700 × 60 ft, concrete ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 36; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; medical: class 3, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; last flight review April 18, 2001; seat: left; flight hours: 574 total, 20 in this make and model, 484 as pilot in command, 10 in the last 90 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 70° at 10 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 8,000 ft broken - Temperature: 86 °F, dew point 50 °F - Altimeter: 29.95 inHg - Observed at: BJC ## Other investigations on N219DF (2) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB CHI05LA257](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI05LA257), Sep 7, 2005: Hildebrant Rutan Defiant (N219DF), Bloomfield, IN, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's inadequate preflight planning which resulted in the airplane overrunning the end of the runway during the aborted takeoff. A factor to the accident was the pilot's lack of familiarity… - [NTSB DEN03LA010](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN03LA010), Oct 19, 2002: Hildebrandt Rutan/Defiant (N219DF), Watkins, CO, substantial damage. Probable cause: the pilot's failure to use the checklist, resulting in his forgetting to lower the nose landing gear. Contributing factors included the pilot's attention being diverted by the loss of oil pressure on… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.