- Date
- August 15, 2015, 17:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Bladenboro, NC
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N629HSSanderson Herbert H SHA Glasair
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 5, 2015
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- Case key
- 91809
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, which resulted in a runway excursion and collision with a ditch.
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
The pilot reported that the during the takeoff roll on a 2,850-foot-long, 135-foot-wide turf runway, the experimental, amateur-built, tailwheel airplane began to veer left as full engine power was attained. The pilot was unable to correct with right rudder and right brake input. She subsequently attempted to takeoff before the airplane veered too far, but it then began to porpoise. As the pilot started to reject the takeoff, the airplane traveled off the left side of the runway, struck a ditch and came to rest upright. The pilot reported that she had in excess of 1,800 hours of tailwheel experience; however, only 2.1 hours were in the same make and model as the accident airplane. She added that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions with the airplane and the wind was light and variable at the time of the accident. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration revealed damage to both wings and the fuselage.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that the during the takeoff roll on a 2,850-foot-long, 135-foot-wide turf runway, the experimental, amateur-built, tailwheel airplane began to veer left as full engine power was attained. The pilot was unable to correct with right rudder and right brake input. She subsequently attempted to takeoff before the airplane veered too far, but it then began to porpoise. As the pilot started to reject the takeoff, the airplane traveled off the left side of the runway, struck a ditch and came to rest upright. The pilot reported that she had in excess of 1,800 hours of tailwheel experience; however, only 2.1 hours were in the same make and model as the accident airplane. She added that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions with the airplane and the wind was light and variable at the time of the accident. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration revealed damage to both wings and the fuselage.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N629HS
- Reported as
- Sanderson Herbert H SHA Glasair (NO SERIES)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- SN363
- Built
- 1984
- Airframe hours
- 70
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Derek Tippins
- Registered owner
- Derek Tippins
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 1, 2015 · 2 hours before
- Departed
- 3W6 · Bladenboro, NC
- Destination
- AYS · Waycross, GA
- Airport
- 3W6 · Bladenboro Airport, runway 20, 2,850 × 135 ft, grass/turf
- Equipment
- Electronic flight bag or handheld device
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
- 20
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 11, 2015
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 2,000 total · 2 in this make and model · 1,880 as pilot in command · 300 in the last 90 days · 80 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 90 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.09 inHg
- Observed at
- EYF, 10 nm away
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 14, 2015, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 847 KB in all.