- Date
- March 31, 2021, 15:30 local (19:30 UTC)
- Place
- Vienna, GA · Private airstrip
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N3299XAyres S2R-G6
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Runway excursion
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20210331001259A
- Case key
- 102846
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 improper decision to attempt a takeoff with a quartering tailwind and his failure to reject the takeoff in a timely manner, which resulted in a runway excursion.
Findings · 4
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 he was taking off from his private airstrip with a left quartering tailwind for an aerial application flight. Due to payload and wind conditions, flying airspeed was not attained prior to his anticipated liftoff point. The nose of the airplane began to veer to the left, and he attempted to correct the drift. He passed his decision point and attempted to avoid a ditch in his path. The airplane impacted the northern bank of the ditch, shearing off the landing gear and damaging the propeller and spray system. After the airplane came to rest, the pilot egressed and a postaccident fire destroyed the wreckage. The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3299X
- Reported as
- Ayres S2R-G6
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- G6-134
- Built
- 1996
- Airframe hours
- 5,171
- Engine
- Honeywell TPE331-6, 715 hp, turbo prop
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 7, 2021
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- N/A · Private, runway 36, 2,900 × 65 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
- 67
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Single
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 22,414 total · 4,479 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 10 knots, gusting 16
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.02 inHg
- Observed at
- ACJ, 23 nm away
Docket · 6
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 2, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 17.1 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 N3299X · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.