- Date
- May 6, 2000, 13:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Socorro, NM
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N6905MStinson 108-3
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 4, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20000506019869A
- Case key
- 51133
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 the aborted takeoff, which resulted in an inadvertent groundloop.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot aborted the first takeoff on runway 24 because he felt that the engine was not developing power. Subsequently, he taxied the airplane to runway 15, leaned the engine for the density altitude conditions, and initiated the takeoff roll on the 5,800-foot runway. The pilot determined that the airplane wasn't developing adequate speed for takeoff, and he aborted the second takeoff. The airplane veered off the right side of runway 15 and groundlooped. Winds were reported from 210 degrees at 7 knots with a temperature of 91 degrees Fahrenheit. The density altitude was calculated as 8,000 feet. No mechanical discrepancies were reported.
Factual narrative
On May 6, 2000, at 1300 mountain daylight time, a Stinson 108-3, tailwheel equipped airplane, N6905M, groundlooped during an aborted takeoff at the Socorro Municipal Airport, near Socorro, New Mexico. The airplane was owned and operated by the pilot under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The commercial pilot, sole occupant, was not injured, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the planned cross-country flight, and a flight plan was not filed. The flight was originating at the time of the accident.
The pilot reported that he was flying the airplane from the state of California to the state of Michigan. The previous leg of the flight was from Cottonwood, Arizona, to Socorro. After refueling at Socorro, the pilot aborted the first takeoff on runway 24 because he felt that the engine was not developing power. Subsequently, he "taxied the airplane to runway 15, leaned the engine for the density altitude conditions, and initiated the takeoff roll on the 5,800-foot runway." On the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2), the pilot stated that he "determined [he] wasn't going to develop adequate speed for takeoff." He aborted the second takeoff; however, he "couldn't control the aircraft to a straight stop." The airplane veered off the right side of runway 15 and groundlooped. The left wing spars and the left wing strut attachment point sustained structural damage. The propeller, engine cowling, and tailwheel spring were damaged.
The pilot reported the wind from 210 degrees at 7 knots and a temperature of 91 degrees Fahrenheit. At 1256, the surface weather observation facility at Albuquerque, New Mexico, (60 nautical miles south of Socorro) reported the wind from 280 degrees at 16 knots gusting to 21 knots, temperature at 29 degrees centigrade (84.2 degrees Fahrenheit), and an altimeter setting of 30.04 inches Mercury. The density altitude was calculated as 8,000 feet.
The FAA inspector examined the airplane at the accident site. No mechanical discrepancies were found that would have contributed to the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6905M
- Reported as
- Stinson 108-3
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 108-4905
- Airframe hours
- 3,500
- Engine
- Franklin 6A4-165-B3, 165 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Joel R. Henderson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 28, 1999 · 7 hours before
- Destination
- DHT · Dalhart, TX
- Airport
- ONM · Socorro Municipal, runway 15, 5,841 × 100 ft, asphalt
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
- 60
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,500 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 91 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.