- Date
- June 12, 2011, 14:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Bennettsville, SC
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N444YBKendall W R/Mclaughlin J Rans S-10 Sakota
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 19, 2011
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20110612010469A
- Case key
- 80734
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 inadequate preflight familiarization of the airstrip.
Findings · 2
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, he attempted to take off from a grass airstrip on a runway that sloped upwards to the crest of a hill. He began the takeoff roll midway up the slope with his forward visibility limited due to the slope's inclination and the taildragger configuration of the airplane. Upon reaching the crest of the hill, the pilot realized that the runway doglegged about 40 degrees to the left, but the airplane was traveling too fast at that point to be able to make the turn. The airplane left the runway and continued down an adjacent road before veering into a ditch, resulting in substantial damage to the right wing and fuselage. The pilot did not report any preexisting mechanical anomalies with the airplane, and noted that the accident could have been prevented had he taxied to the crest of the hill first and performed a visual check prior to beginning the takeoff attempt.
Factual narrative
According to the pilot, he attempted to take off from a grass airstrip on a runway that sloped upwards to the crest of a hill. He began the takeoff roll midway up the slope with his forward visibility limited due to the slope's inclination and the taildragger configuration of the airplane. Upon reaching the crest of the hill, the pilot realized that the runway doglegged about 40 degrees to the left, but the airplane was traveling too fast at that point to be able to make the turn. The airplane left the runway and continued down an adjacent road before veering into a ditch, resulting in substantial damage to the right wing and fuselage. The pilot did not report any preexisting mechanical anomalies with the airplane, and noted that the accident could have been prevented had he taxied to the crest of the hill first and performed a visual check prior to beginning the takeoff attempt.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N444YB
- Reported as
- Kendall W R/Mclaughlin J Rans S-10 Sakota
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1JB
- Engine
- Rotax 582DCDI, 65 horsepower
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- NONE · Bennettsville, SC
- Destination
- NC71 · Parkton, NC
- Airport
- NONE · Stanton's Barbecue & Fish Camp, runway 30, 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
- 57
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 129 total · 19 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 7, 2011, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.0 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.
Other investigations on N444YB · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.