- Date
- December 30, 2005, 13:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Boulder City, NV
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N5435LGrumman AA-5
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 25, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20051230029429A
- Case key
- 63024
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 preflight inspection and failure to follow the airplane's checklist, which resulted in his failure to remove the gust lock prior to flight.
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 veered off the runway into terrain as it was lifting off. The pilot completed a preflight through the "ready to taxi" checklist. As he taxied out, he watched a large sea plane take off, and then a Cessna departed ahead of him. He attempted to rotate at 60 mph during the ground roll, but was unable to raise the nose. He then discovered that he had forgotten to remove the flight control's gust lock prior to takeoff. He noted that he had a portable GPS mounted to the yoke, which obstructed his view of the gust lock and access to it. The airplane veered off the left side of the runway, and sustained damage when it encountered terrain.
Factual narrative
On December 30, 2005, about 1300 Pacific standard time, a Grumman AA-5, N5435L, veered off the runway and collided with terrain during takeoff at Boulder City, Nevada. The pilot/owner was operating the airplane as a local personal flight under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The private pilot, the sole occupant, sustained minor injuries; the airplane sustained substantial damage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.
The pilot reported that he completed a preflight through the "ready to taxi" checklist. As he taxied out, he watched a large sea plane take off, and then a Cessna departed ahead of him. He attempted to rotate at 60 mph, but was unable to raise the nose. He then discovered that he had forgotten to remove the flight control's gust lock prior to takeoff. He noted that he had a portable GPS mounted to the yoke, which obstructed his view of the gust lock and access to it. He could not recall a previous occasion in his 26 years of flying this airplane where he did not follow the airplane's checklist.
The airplane veered off the left side of the runway, and sustained damage when it encountered terrain.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5435L
- Reported as
- Grumman AA-5
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- AA5-0335
- Airframe hours
- 4,385
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2G, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- William E. Huff
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 1, 2005 · 24 hours before
- Departed
- 61B · Boulder City, NV
- Airport
- 61B · Boulder City Municipal, runway 27L, 4,800 × 75 ft, asphalt
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
- 72
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3
- Last flight review
- September 1, 2005
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,082 total · 1,082 in this make and model · 8 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 21 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.95 inHg
- Observed at
- HND, 13 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.