- Date
- May 30, 2005, 18:00 local (May 31, 2005, 00:00 UTC)
- Place
- Marfa, TX
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N8MEAermacchi Bosbok AM 3-C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 13, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20050530016879A
- Case key
- 61641
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 attain adequate airspeed, and his premature liftoff resulting in a loss of directional control.
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 5,855-hour private pilot lost directional control on takeoff and struck a visual approach slope indicator (VASI) light with the left stabilizer/elevator. The pilot reported: "I believe the cause of the accident was pilot error. High density altitude and lifting the tail too soon without attaining enough airspeed."
Factual narrative
On May 30, 2005, at 1800 Central Standard Time, an experimental Aermacchi Bosbok AM 3-C, single engine airplane, N8ME, sustained substantial damage during takeoff at the Marfa Municipal Airport (MRF), near Marfa, Texas. The private pilot/owner and the passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
In a written statement, the pilot stated that he lost directional control on takeoff from Runway 30 (a 6,214-foot-long and 75 -foot- wide asphalt runway) and struck a visual approach slope indicator (VASI) light with the left stabilizer/elevator. He stated "I believe the cause of the accident was pilot error. High density altitude and lifting the tail too soon without attaining enough airspeed."
The pilot reported a total of 5,855 flight hours, of which 15 hours were in the same make and model in the 90 days preceding the accident.
Weather at Marfa Municipal Airport, at 1755, was reported as wind from 260 degrees at 6 knots, visibility 8 miles, clear skies, temperature 84 degrees Fahrenheit, and dewpoint 42 degrees Fahrenheit.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8ME
- Reported as
- Aermacchi Bosbok AM 3-C
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 2009
- Engine
- Lycoming GSO-480-B1B3, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- John M. Barnett
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- MRF · Marfa, TX
- Destination
- ERV · Kerrville, TX
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
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land, Multi-engine sea, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 5,855 total · 15 in this make and model · 72 in the last 90 days · 24 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 43 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.