# NTSB FTW01LA173: Curtis-Travel Air 4000, N5433, Morrilton, AR, August 3, 2001 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: August 3, 2001, 08:30 local (13:30 UTC) - Place: Morrilton, AR - Coordinates: 35.150577, -92.739822 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.1506&lon=-92.7398&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Takeoff](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/300) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 3 uninjured - Status: Completed, report February 5, 2002 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FAA FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 52947 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=FTW01LA173 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/52947/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW01LA173 ## Probable cause the pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during takeoff. Contributing factors were the pilot's lack of experience in the accident airplane, and the rough/uneven runway. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - in flight, takeoff - aircraft control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - lack of total experience in type of aircraft, pilot in command (contributing factor) - terrain condition - rough/uneven (contributing factor) - In flight collision with object, takeoff - aborted - object - fence - object - fence post ## Analysis During the takeoff roll on the private grass airstrip, at 50-60 knots, the pilot raised the tail of the vintage bi-plane to a takeoff attitude. The right main landing gear hit a bump, the airplane became airborne and banked left. The pilot over corrected back to the right, and the right wingtip hit the ground. The right wingtip drug along the ground, and the airplane turned right and went through a barbed wire fence. The pilot aborted the takeoff, and the airplane landed hard separating the main landing gear. The airplane then impacted a piece of farm equipment with the left wing and a fence post with the right wing before coming to rest upright. At the time of the accident, the pilot had logged a total flight time of 2300 hours, of which 500 hours were in tail-wheel equipped airplanes. The pilot had 0.6 hours in the accident airplane. ## Factual narrative On August 3, 2001, at 0830 central daylight time, a Curtis-Travel Air 4000 vintage bi-plane, N5433, was substantially damaged following a loss of engine power during takeoff from a private grass airstrip near Morrilton, Arkansas. The airplane was owned and operated by a private individual. The airline transport pilot and his two passengers, one of whom was the owner, were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 positioning flight. The cross-country flight was originating at the time of the accident from the Hetrick Ranch Turf Strip, and was destined for McAlester, Oklahoma. The day prior to the accident, the pilot received flight training and a checkout in the accident airplane at Dennis F Cantrell Field Airport in Conway, Arkansas, from the airplane's previous owner, who was a certificated flight instructor. Due to mechanical problems, the pilot and previous owner flew the airplane back to the previous owner's ranch grass strip to make repairs. The morning of the accident, the pilot calculated the weight and balance of the airplane to be 40 pounds under maximum gross weight. The airplane's new owner, who did not hold a certificate to act as a pilot-in-command, and his son occupied the two front seats. The pilot occupied the rear seat. During the takeoff roll, at 50-60 knots, the pilot raised the tail to a takeoff attitude. The right main landing gear hit a bump, the airplane became airborne and banked left. The pilot over corrected back to the right, and the right wingtip hit the ground. The right wingtip drug along the ground, which "caused a directional change to the right," and the airplane went through a barbed wire fence. The pilot "chopped power" to abort the takeoff, and the airplane "pan caked in from about 8 feet," separating the main landing gear. The airplane slid forward, and the left wing struck a "large heavy steer handling implement." The airplane then pivoted to the left impacting a fence post with the right wing before coming to rest upright. Examination of the airplane by the FAA inspector, who responded to the accident, revealed that the upper and lower wings sustained structural damage. As of the day of the accident, the pilot had logged a total flight time of 2300 hours of which 500 hours were in tail-wheel equipped airplanes. The pilot had 0.6 hours in the accident airplane. At 0853, the weather observation facility at the Little Rock International Airport, Little Rock, Arkansas, located 37 nautical miles southeast of the accident site, reported the wind from 210 degrees at 5 knots, visibility 7 statute miles, few clouds at 25,000 feet, temperature 88 degrees Fahrenheit, dew point at 66 degrees Fahrenheit, and an altimeter setting of 30.13 inches of Mercury. The pilot estimated the wind to be from 190-210 degrees at less than 5 knots at the time of the accident. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N5433](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N5433), registered now, S/N 522, built 1928 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Curtis-Travel Air 4000 - Registry model: [Travel Air 4000](https://openairdocs.org/model/travel-air-4000) (registry code 2621818) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming R680](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-r680) (registry code 41540, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 522 - Engines: Lycoming R680 225 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Positioning, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Departed: NONE, Morrilton, AR - Destination: MLC, McAlester, OK - Airport: NONE, Hetrick Ranch Turf Strip, runway 20, 1,700 × 50 ft, grass/turf ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 45; injuries: none; airline transport, commercial; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; last flight review October 14, 2000; seat: single; flight hours: 2,300 total, 1 in this make and model, 2,100 as pilot in command, 50 in the last 90 days, 20 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 190° at 5 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 88 °F ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20010803020619A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010803020619A), Aug 3, 2001: Springfield, AR, No damage. (-23) At approximately 0830 hours on 3 August 2001, N5433 a curtis travel air D4000 crashed while attempting a takeoff from a private grass strip. The pilot in… ## Other investigations on N5433 (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB LAX74DUJ53](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX74DUJ53), May 2, 1974: Travel Air 4000 (N5433), Phoenix, AZ, substantial damage From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.