- Date
- June 22, 2000, 21:00 local (Jun 23, 2000, 04:00 UTC)
- Place
- Gerlach, NV
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N511RBCessna 206
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 2, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20000622012969A
- Case key
- 49557
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 attempt to takeoff from an unsuitable area and his collision with a dirt berm.
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 airplane collided with a dirt berm during an attempted takeoff from an open field. The flight had departed Boise, Idaho, at an unknown time and date, and was scheduled to terminate in Santa Monica, California. The reason for the en route stop in the pasture in Nevada was not determined. Repeated attempts to contact the owner/pilot by the FAA and NTSB were unsuccessful.
Factual narrative
On June 22, 2000, at 2100 hours Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 206, N511RB, collided with a dirt berm during an attempted takeoff from a pasture 16 miles north of Gerlach, Nevada. The airplane was operated by the owner/pilot under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91, and sustained substantial damage. The private pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions existed for the personal flight, and no flight plan had been filed. The flight departed Boise, Idaho, at an unknown date and time, and was scheduled to terminate at the Santa Monica Municipal Airport, Santa Monica, California. The reason for the en route stop in the pasture was undetermined.
The accident was reported to the National Transportation Safety Board on June 26, 2000, after verification of damage by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector. Repeated attempts to reach the owner/pilot for additional information concerning the accident were unsuccessful.
According to the FAA inspector, the airplane was repaired and returned to service by Susanville Aviation, at the Susanville Municipal Airport, Susanville, California. The FAA made repeated attempts to reach the owner/pilot for more information about the accident, but were unsuccessful.
Personnel information
The pilot's personal logbooks were unavailable for review by the Safety Board investigator. Review of the FAA Airmen and Medical certification records by the investigator revealed that the pilot received his private pilot certificate on November 10, 1997. On April 11, 2000, he was denied an instrument rating add-on to his private pilot certificate. On April 14, 2000, he was denied a second time. On April 14, 2000, the pilot reported his total flight time as 284 hours.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N511RB
- Reported as
- Cessna 206
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 2060247
- Engine
- Continental IO-520, 285 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Bart H. Levine
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- NV
- Destination
- SMO · Santa Monica, CA
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 42
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 284 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 0° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 158 °F, dew point 106 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- WMC, 83 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.