- Date
- September 19, 2023, 13:15 local (17:15 UTC)
- Place
- Erwinna, PA · On Airport
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N46YBoeing B75
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Loss of control in flight
- 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
- 20230919014869A
- Case key
- 193158
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 control of the airplane while taking off in a crosswind.
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 was attempting to take off in a right crosswind and had the right aileron fully deflected during the takeoff roll. As the tail-wheel equipped airplane became airborne, a wind gust pushed the airplane to the left side of the runway toward a tree line. The pilot attempted to turn the airplane back into the wind, but the lower left wing contacted a tree limb. The airplane descended into trees resulting in substantial damage to the rudder and both lower wings. The pilot reported there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N46Y
- Reported as
- Boeing B75
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 75-1377
- Built
- 1941
- Airframe hours
- 6,249
- Engine
- Lycoming R680-17, 225 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Marty Quentin G
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 6, 2023 · 68 hours before
- Airport
- 9N1 · Vansant, runway 25, 3,058 × 120 ft, grass/turf
- Equipment
- Handheld GPS, ADS-B
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
- 73
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 16, 2023
- Seat
- Rear
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 2,404 total · 2,048 in this make and model · 2,395 as pilot in command · 57 in the last 90 days · 41 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,400 ft broken
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- KDYL, 9 nm away
- METAR
- KDYL 191654Z AUTO 29006KT 10SM BKN044 22/11 A3000
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 9, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 9.4 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.
Other investigations on N46Y · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.