- Date
- September 22, 2010, 17:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- New Castle, VA
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N8001JConsolidated Aeronautics Lake LA-4-200
- Defining event
- Takeoff-rejected takeoff: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 12, 2011
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- Richmond FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20100922046409A
- Case key
- 77380
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 delayed decision to abort the takeoff, which resulted in a collision with terrain.
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
According to the pilot, the airplane was accelerating normally during the takeoff roll into a 6- to 8-knot headwind. About halfway down the turf runway, the airplane became airborne and then settled back onto the runway. The pilot decided to abort the takeoff and reduced power while applying the brakes. He realized that the airplane would not be able to stop prior to impacting a berm located at the end of the runway and added full power. The airplane cleared the berm, crossed a dirt road, and impacted a tree and several boulders before coming to rest in a pond. The pilot stated that it had rained earlier in the day and that the runway might have still been damp. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
According to the pilot, all indications were in the "normal range," and the airplane was accelerating normally during the takeoff roll into a 6- to 8-knot headwind. About halfway down the 2,400-foot turf runway, the airplane attained "2/3 flying speed," and between that point and the end of the runway, it became airborne, then settled back onto the runway. The pilot decided to abort the takeoff, and reduced power and applied braking, but then realized that the airplane would not be able to stop prior to impacting a berm located at the end of the runway. He added full power, and the airplane cleared the berm, crossed a dirt road, impacted a tree and some boulders, and came to rest in a pond. The pilot stated that it had rained earlier in the day and the runway might have still been damp. The pilot also stated that he "did not detect any mechanical malfunctions."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8001J
- Reported as
- Consolidated Aeronautics Lake LA-4-200
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 993
- Airframe hours
- 1,761
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-A1B, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- VA85 · New Castle, VA
- Destination
- Moneta, VA
- Airport
- VA85 · New Castle International Airpo, runway 18, 2,400 × 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
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Private, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- April 15, 2009
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,100 total · 700 in this make and model · 950 as pilot in command · 30 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.09 inHg
Docket · 6
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 19, 2010, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.9 MB 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.