- Date
- July 2, 2016, 18:50 local (22:50 UTC)
- Place
- Harrisonburg, VA
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N8130DPiper PA 22-160
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Loss of control in flight
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 10, 2017
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20160702013629A
- Case key
- 93525
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 loss of directional control during takeoff in gusting crosswind conditions.
Findings · 5
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/owner of the single-engine, tailwheel-equipped airplane was attempting to depart from a private turf runway. During the takeoff, a wind gust contacted the airplane from the left side, and the airplane veered to the right. The airplane's right wing and propeller then struck a fence post. The pilot tried to fly the airplane back to the runway, but it impacted terrain and slid into a tree. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Examination of the wreckage revealed substantial damage to both wings and the fuselage. The recorded weather at an airport located about 15 miles from the accident site, about the time of the accident, included a left quartering headwind at 9 knots.
Factual narrative
The pilot/owner of the single-engine tailwheel airplane was attempting to depart from a private turf runway. During the takeoff, a gust of wind contacted the airplane from the left side, and it veered to the right. The airplane's right wing and propeller then struck a fence post. The pilot tried to fly the airplane back to the runway, but it impacted terrain and slid into a tree. The pilot reported there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane. Examination of the wreckage revealed substantial damage to both wings and the fuselage. The recorded weather at an airport located about 15 miles from the accident site, about the time of the accident, included a left quartering headwind at 9 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8130D
- Reported as
- Piper PA 22-160 (160)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 22-5621
- Built
- 1958
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320 SERIES, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 31, 2015
- Departed
- NA · Harrisonburg, VA
- Destination
- NA · Harrisonburg, VA
- Airport
- NA · Private, runway 090, 1,400 × 60 ft, grass/turf
- Equipment
- None
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
- 64
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificates
- Private, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 1,600 total · 400 in this make and model · 1,550 as pilot in command · 4 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 60° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 6,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 77 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.09 inHg
- Observed at
- KSHD, 14 nm away
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 29, 2017, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 5.4 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.