- Date
- September 4, 2011, 11:47 local (16:47 UTC)
- Place
- Memphis, TN
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N36VQuestair Venture
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 27, 2011
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20110904020629A
- Case key
- 81696
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 inability to maintain directional control during landing with a flat tire. Contributing to the accident was the failure of the left main landing gear tire for undetermined reasons.
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 accelerated as expected during the takeoff roll, and, at rotation, he heard a loud "pop" and felt a "thump." He said that he and the copilot agreed that the airplane probably had experienced a main landing gear tire blowout. The pilot flew by the air traffic control tower, but the controllers were unable to assess the damage, so the pilot requested a return to a different runway for landing. The airplane touched down in the center of the 150-foot-wide runway, but the pilot was unable to maintain directional control with full application of right rudder and right brake. The airplane departed the left side of the runway and struck a concrete drainage culvert, which resulted in substantial damage to the airframe. A postaccident examination of the left main landing gear tire revealed evidence of a puncture and tearing around its circumference but no foreign objects associated with foreign object damage (FOD). No postaccident FOD check of the runway was conducted by the airport authority. The examination also revealed that the inboard half of each main landing gear tire displayed significant wear, no remaining tread, but no chord visible. The cause of the flat tire could not be determined.
Factual narrative
According to the pilot, the airplane accelerated as expected during the takeoff roll, and at rotation, a loud "pop" was heard and a "thump" was felt. He and the copilot agreed that they had probably experienced a blowout of a main landing gear tire. The pilot conducted a fly-by of the air traffic control tower, but the tower personnel were unable to assess the damage, and he then requested a return to a different runway for landing. The airplane touched down in the center of the 150-feet wide runway, but the crew was unable to maintain directional control with a full application of right rudder and right brake. The airplane departed the left side of the runway, and struck a concrete drainage culvert, which resulted in substantial damage to the airframe. Examination of the left main landing gear tire revealed evidence of a puncture, and tearing around its circumference, but no foreign objects associated with foreign object damage (FOD). Examination revealed that the inboard half of each main landing gear tire displayed significant wear, no remaining tread, but no chord visible. Operations on the departure runway were continued without interruption, and no post-accident FOD check of the runway was conducted by the airport authority.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N36V
- Reported as
- Questair Venture
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 16
- Airframe hours
- 380
- Engine
- Cont Motor IO-550 SERIES, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Questair Ventures LLC
- Registered owner
- Questair Ventures LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · October 15, 2010
- Departed
- MEM · Memphis, TN
- Destination
- MEM · Memphis, TN
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- MEM · Memphis International, runway 36C, 11,120 × 150 ft, concrete
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 61
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,800 total · 250 in this make and model · 20 in the last 90 days
- Role
- Co-pilot
- Age
- 62
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- December 11, 2009
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 629 total · 450 in this make and model · 556 as pilot in command · 10 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 80° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 9 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 12,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.87 inHg
- Observed at
- MEM
Docket · 5
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 25, 2011, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.3 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 N36V · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.