# NTSB ERA14LA462: Quicksilver Eipper Acft GT 400, N3740A, Lebanon, CT, September 28, 2014

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report
- Date: September 28, 2014, 11:52 local (15:52 UTC)
- Place: Lebanon, CT
- Coordinates: 41.601665, -72.230834 (estimated)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.6017&lon=-72.2308&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Initial climb](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/350) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Defining event: [Initial climb: Controlled flight into terr/obj (CFIT)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/120)
- Highest injury: Serious injuries
- Injuries: 1 serious
- Status: Completed, report June 1, 2015
- Report: Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties: FAA/FSDO
- NTSB case key (mKey): 90175
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA14LA462
- NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/90175/pdf
- NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=90175
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA14LA462

## Probable cause

The pilot’s misjudgment of the takeoff distance needed to clear trees at the end of the runway.

## Findings

NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause.

- [Aircraft capability: climb capability](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01061010): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Capability exceeded; cases with it: [Quicksilver Eipper Acft GT 400, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01061010/cases.md?model=05903T7), [All aircraft, 183 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01061010/cases.md)
- [Info processing/decision: decision making/judgment](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Quicksilver Eipper Acft GT 400, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md?model=05903T7), [All aircraft, 3,098 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md)

## Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened.

- [Initial climb: Controlled flight into terr/obj (CFIT)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/120) (defining event); cases with it: [Quicksilver Eipper Acft GT 400, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/120/sequence.md?model=05903T7), [All aircraft, 1,074 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/120/sequence.md)
- [Initial climb: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240); cases with it: [Quicksilver Eipper Acft GT 400, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md?model=05903T7), [All aircraft, 5,002 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md)

## Analysis

The pilot reported that, during the takeoff from a private airstrip, he used only about half of the available runway length. The ultralight airplane reached about 8 to 10 ft above the ground, and the pilot thought it would clear trees at the end of the runway, so he continued the climb. The nose landing gear subsequently cleared the trees, but the main landing gear caught a treetop. The airplane then turned right, stalled, and descended through the trees to the ground. The airplane was heading into gusting wind during the takeoff. A witness reported hearing the engine running after the accident, and the pilot did not report any preexisting mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.

## Factual narrative

On September 28, 2014, at 1152 eastern daylight time, a Quicksilver Eipper GT 400, N3740A, was substantially damaged when it impacted trees while taking off from a private airstrip in Lebanon, Connecticut. The non-certificated pilot was seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the flight to Richmond Airport (08R), West Kingston, Rhode Island, under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.According to a witness, she was sitting in her living room when she heard what sounded like an airplane taking off from the airstrip located beyond the trees in her back yard. It sounded very loud and low, so she ran to a window at the back of her house to see if it would clear the trees when she heard it hit the trees and then crash. She heard the engine still running for a few minutes after the crash and then it stopped. The pilot was interviewed by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector while recovering in the hospital. According to the inspector, the pilot had flown the airplane from his home airport [08R] to the uncontrolled, private airstrip. It had been about 8 years since he had last flown there, and the pilot was unaware that the airstrip had been shortened by about 200 feet. The pilot did not speak to anyone and stayed there about an hour. When he decided to depart, he configured the airplane with 10-degrees flaps, and departed to the [north]west. In an attempt to clear trees beyond the end of the runway, he pulled back on the control stick and stalled the airplane into those trees. In further correspondence with the NTSB, the pilot stated that he only used about half of the runway to take off. About 8 to 10 feet in the air, the pilot thought the airplane would clear trees at the end of the runway, and he continued the climb. The nose landing gear cleared the trees, but the main landing gear caught the top of a tree. The airplane then turned to the right, stalled, and descended through the trees to the ground. Winds, recorded at a nearby airport at the time of the accident, were from 340 degrees true at 8, gusting 18 knots. Estimated dimensions of the airstrip from a Google Earth view were about 1,050 feet by 40 feet, oriented 290/110 degrees true. The airplane was originally operated under Federal Air Regulations Part 103 for ultralight aircraft. The airplane was registered in 2007, but that registration expired in 2012. The pilot did not possess a pilot certificate, but indicated that he had flown an estimated 2,500 hours in ultralights with about 500 hours in make and model. The pilot did not report any preexisting mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal airplane operation.

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N3740A](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N3740A-2018-01-18), registration cancelled 2018-01-18, S/N GT 2801051 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: QUICKSILVER EIPPER ACFT INC GT 400
- Registry model: [Quicksilver Eipper Acft GT 400](https://openairdocs.org/model/quicksilver-eipper-acft-gt-400) (registry code 05903T7) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane
- Serial number: GT 2801051
- Year built: 1989
- Engines: ROTAX 503 50 horsepower reciprocating
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Flight: Personal, Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate: Unknown
- Departed: NONE, Lebanon, CT
- Destination: NONE, Lebanon, CT
- Airport: NONE, Private Airstrip, runway 29, 1,050 × 40 ft, grass/turf

## Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

- Pilot; age 69; injuries: serious; seat: single; flight hours: 2,500 total, 500 in this make and model, 10 in the last 90 days

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day
- Wind: 340° at 8 knots, gusting 18
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling: none
- Temperature: 79 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter: 29.84 inHg
- Observed at: IJD, 9 nm away

## FAA reports on this event (1)

The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs).

- [Accident 20140928017649A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20140928017649A), Sep 28, 2014: Quicksilver Eipper Acft Inc GT 400, Lebanon, CT, Substantial damage. On Sunday, September 28,2014, at approximately 11:55 am, an experimental light sport aircraft, with expired registration number N3740A , collided with trees…

## Docket (4 files)

The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 16, 2015, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=90175. 2.1 MB in all.

- Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 1.8 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40424858&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF
- FAA Pilot Interview (item 2, .PDF, 204 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40424859&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=FAA%20Pilot%20Interview-Redacted.PDF
- Witness Statement (item 3, .PDF, 24 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40424860&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Witness%20Statement-Redacted.PDF
- Photo 1 - Wreckage (Photo Courtesy of FAA) (item 4, .PDF, 91 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40424861&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%201%20-%20Wreckage%20(Photo%20Courtesy%20of%20FAA)-Master.PDF

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

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