- Date
- July 26, 2009, 16:40 local (20:40 UTC)
- Place
- Rhinebeck, NY
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N19157White New Standard
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 9, 2009
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20090726048229A
- Case key
- 74383
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 of the airplane during the takeoff roll. Contributing to the accident was a depression near the edge of the turf runway that the airplane encountered during the takeoff roll.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot was departing the turf runway in a tailwheel-equipped airplane. As he began the takeoff roll, the airplane "began to pull a little to the left." He corrected with rudder, but the airplane continued to "pull harder to the left." The airplane traveled toward the edge of the runway, where it "dropped suddenly" and exited the runway. The pilot attempted to steer the airplane back onto the runway, and continued to apply full power in order to avoid a large rock pile. He stated that the airplane was "tracking straight ahead" in an area of high brush, and that he decided to "remain with rudder and power rather than questionable braking." The airplane continued through the brush before traveling over an embankment and coming to rest between two trees on the edge of a swamp area. The airplane's wings sustained substantial damage. Postaccident inspection of the runway revealed a 12-inch-deep depression approximately where the airplane exited the runway. Examination of the airplane did not reveal any preimpact failures. The nearest weather reporting station, located approximately 21 miles south of the accident location, reported calm winds at the time of the accident.
Factual narrative
The pilot was departing the turf runway in a tailwheel airplane. As he began the takeoff roll, the airplane "began to pull a little to the left." He corrected with rudder, but the airplane continued to "pull harder to the left." The airplane traveled toward the edge of the runway, where it "dropped suddenly" and exited the runway. The pilot attempted to steer the airplane back onto the runway, and continued to apply full power in order to avoid a large rock pile. He stated that the airplane was "tracking straight ahead" in an area of high brush, and that he decided to "remain with rudder and power rather than questionable braking." The airplane continued through the brush before traveling over an embankment and coming to rest between two trees on the edge of a swamp area. The airplane's wings sustained substantial damage. Postaccident inspection of the runway revealed a 12-inch-deep depression approximately where the airplane exited the runway. Examination of the airplane did not reveal any preimpact failures. The nearest weather reporting station, located approximately 21 miles south of the accident location, reported calm winds at the time of the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N19157
- Reported as
- White New Standard (D25)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 162J
- Airframe hours
- 3,535
- Engine
- Continental W670, 220 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 91
- Operator
- Old Rhinebeck Air Shows
- Registered owner
- Rhinebeck Aerodrome Museum
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 1, 2008
- Departed
- NY94 · Rhinebeck, NY
- Destination
- NY94 · Rhinebeck, NY
- Flight plan
- Unknown
- Airport
- NY94 · Old Rhinebeck Airport, runway 18, 2,100 × 75 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
- 61
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- April 10, 2008
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 7,512 total · 66 in this make and model · 6,734 as pilot in command · 62 in the last 90 days · 26 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.86 inHg
- Observed at
- POU, 21 nm away
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 17, 2009, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 809 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.