- Date
- June 18, 2017, 09:15 local (13:15 UTC)
- Place
- Williston, FL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N251CWWard Christopher Barry RAI 6
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Abrupt maneuver
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 15, 2017
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20170618008519A
- Case key
- 95401
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 the airplane’s pitch control during rotation and his subsequent loss of directional control.
Findings · 3
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, who was on the controls in the high-performance, experimental, amateur-built airplane, reported that he and a check pilot, who was familiar with the airplane and required by the insurance company, were taking off from a grass airstrip for a planned cross-country flight. According to the check pilot, before takeoff, he advised the pilot to "begin his rotation to takeoff attitude a few knots before the normal takeoff speed of approximately 65 knots and then let the airplane lift off smoothly when it was ready to fly." During the takeoff roll, the pilot initiated the "rotation" as instructed, but the nose pitched up too high, and the airplane drifted to the left side of the runway. The airplane exited the left side of the runway, struck the ground, and came to rest upright facing the opposite direction of the takeoff. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right-wing spar and the lower part of the composite fuselage. The pilots reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The pilot, who was on the controls in the high-performance, experimental amateur built airplane, reported that he and a check pilot that was familiar with the airplane and required by the insurance company, were taking off from a grass airstrip for a planned cross-country flight. According to the check pilot, before takeoff he advised the pilot "begin his rotation to takeoff attitude a few knots before the normal takeoff speed of approximately 65 knots and then let the airplane lift off smoothly when it was ready to fly." During the takeoff roll, the pilot initiated the "rotation" as instructed, but the nose pitched up too high and the airplane drifted to the left side of the runway. The airplane exited the left side of the runway, struck the ground and came to rest upright and facing the opposite direction of the takeoff. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right-wing spar and the lower part of the composite fuselage. The pilots reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N251CW
- Reported as
- Ward Christopher Barry RAI 6 (NO SERIES)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- F16
- Built
- 2017
- Airframe hours
- 34
- Engine
- Lycoming TIO - 540 -AE, 350 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · January 16, 2016
- Departed
- X60 · Williston, FL
- Destination
- KHWO · Norh Perry, FL
- Flight plan
- Unknown
- Airport
- X60 · Willisto, runway 05, 6,669 × 100 ft, concrete
- Equipment
- Auto-pilot, Angle of attack indicator, ADS-B, Stall warning system, Onboard weather, Electronic primary flight display, Electronic flight bag or handheld device
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Check pilot
- Age
- 69
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- January 10, 2017
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 7,182 total · 245 in this make and model · 5,787 as pilot in command · 8 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 67
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- January 5, 2001
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 3,360 total · 13 in this make and model · 1,530 as pilot in command · 17 in the last 90 days · 7 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 140° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,300 ft broken
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 77 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- KOCF, 17 nm away
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 7, 2017, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.9 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.