- Date
- September 18, 1994, 13:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Nenana, AK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N89511Cessna 140
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 4, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940918029809A
- Case key
- 19168
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 excessive use of the brakes during the aborted takeoff.
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 decided to abort the takeoff immediately after the airplane broke ground due to variable cross wind conditions. During the abort, the pilot applied exessive brakes and the airplane nosed over. The sod strip was 800 feet long.
Factual narrative
On September 18, 1994, at 1330 Alaska daylight time, a Cessna 140, N89511, was substantially damaged during takeoff from a private sod strip near Nenana, Alaska. The airplane, owned and operated by the private pilot, was departing on a personal cross country flight. There was no flight plan filed and visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured.
According to the pilot, he was on a round robin flight out of Fairbanks, Alaska, when he landed at the 800 foot by 40 foot sod strip. He said that during the takeoff, he encountered variable cross wind conditions and decided to abort the takeoff right after the airplane broke ground. He stated that he pulled the power and mixture off, set the airplane down, and applied braking. He further said that he applied excessive brakes and the airplane nosed over and slid to a stop on its back. The pilot reported the winds as being variable from a cross wind to a tail wind at 4 to 8 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N89511
- Reported as
- Cessna 140
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 8547
- Airframe hours
- 5,695
- Engine
- Continental C-85-12-F, 85 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Hrubes, Patrick E.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 9, 1994 · 5 hours before
- Destination
- FAI · Fairbanks, AK
- Airport
- None, runway 36, 800 × 40 ft, grass/turf
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
- 37
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 161 total · 104 as pilot in command · 21 in the last 90 days · 9 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 4 knots, gusting 8
- Visibility
- 60 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 2,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 50 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.