- Date
- December 27, 2013, 17:00 local (22:00 UTC)
- Place
- Littleton, NC
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N1833XCessna 182H
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 4, 2014
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- FAA report
- 20131227024659A
- Case key
- 88609
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 during takeoff.
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
During a cross-country flight, the engine sputtered twice and the pilot performed an uneventful precautionary landing, in a field about 20 miles away from his intended destination. The pilot then secured ground transportation and obtained more fuel for the airplane. During the subsequent takeoff from the "L-shaped" field, the airplane drifted right and struck a culvert on the right boundary of the field. The pilot continued the takeoff and landed at his intended destination. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed damage to the nosegear, lower fuselage, and firewall. The pilot also reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions with the airplane.
Factual narrative
During a cross-country flight, the engine sputtered twice and the pilot performed an uneventful precautionary landing, in a field about 20 miles away from his intended destination. The pilot then secured ground transportation and obtained more fuel for the airplane. During the subsequent takeoff from the "L-shaped" field, the airplane drifted right and struck a culvert on the right boundary of the field. The pilot continued the takeoff and landed at his intended destination. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed damage to the nosegear, lower fuselage, and firewall. The pilot also reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions with the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1833X
- Reported as
- Cessna 182H (H)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18255933
- Built
- 1964
- Airframe hours
- 5,282
- Engine
- Cont Motor O-470, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Smith Donald G
- Registered owner
- Smith Donald G
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 11, 2013 · 10 hours before
- Departed
- Littleton, NC
- Destination
- LHZ · Louisburg, NC
- Equipment
- Stall warning system
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
- 60
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 2, 2013
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 1,025 total · 451 in this make and model · 1,025 as pilot in command · 11 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 45 °F, dew point 27 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.38 inHg
- Observed at
- LHZ, 20 nm away
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 21, 2014, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 956 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.