- Date
- June 26, 2015, 07:00 local (14:00 UTC)
- Place
- Quincy, WA
- Injuries
- 2 minor, 1 uninjured; on the ground: 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N70WGRandall W Grandpre CH-701 Zenith
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Collision during takeoff/land
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 12, 2015
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20150626010109A
- Case key
- 91450
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 inadequate selection of a take-off area, resulting in a collision with obstacles and a loss of directional control.
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 reported that during the takeoff roll on a gravel road, he failed to see a low hanging tree branch that the airplane collided with. The airplane veered off the road to the left and impacted an embankment that bordered the road. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right side of the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that during the takeoff roll on a gravel road, he failed to see a low hanging tree branch that the airplane collided with. The airplane veered off the road to the left and impacted an embankment that bordered the road. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right side of the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N70WG
- Reported as
- Randall W Grandpre CH-701 Zenith (NO SERIES)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 7-4823
- Built
- 2012
- Airframe hours
- 315
- Engine
- Viking HF-110, 110 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Grandpre Randall W
- Registered owner
- Grandpre Randall W
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · February 18, 2015 · 73 hours before
- Departed
- Quincy, WA
- Destination
- S83 · Kellogg, ID
- Airport
- 80T · Quincy Muni
- Equipment
- Handheld GPS, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Electronic multifunction display, Electronic primary flight display
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
- Certificates
- Private, Sport Pilot
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Sport pilot
- Last flight review
- September 26, 2014
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 500 total · 312 in this make and model · 450 as pilot in command · 49 in the last 90 days · 24 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.03 inHg
- Observed at
- KEPH, 2 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 10, 2015, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.0 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.