- Date
- May 28, 2007, 16:30 local (23:30 UTC)
- Place
- Mammoth Lakes, CA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N6744PPiper PA-24-250
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 25, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20070528011259A
- Case key
- 65906
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 ensure that the runway was clear of other aircraft before 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
During takeoff from the uncontrolled airport, the pilot saw another airplane on climb out that had taken off on the opposite runway. The accident pilot aborted his takeoff, and landed hard on the runway, collapsing the right main landing gear.
Factual narrative
On May 28, 2007, about 1630 Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-24-250, N6744P, had a hard landing during an aborted takeoff at Mammoth Yosemite Airport (MMH), Mammoth Lakes, California. The owner/pilot was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The commercial pilot and one passenger were not injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage. The cross-country personal flight was departing MMH with a planned destination of San Diego, California. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The approximate global positioning system (GPS) coordinates of the primary wreckage were 37 degrees 37.27 minutes north latitude and 118 degrees 50.15 minutes west longitude.
The pilot stated in a written report that during his run-up he heard a loud squeal on the Unicom, but he then no further transmissions. He decided to depart MMH using runway 09. After he had made his radio transmission on the Unicom frequency stating his intentions to use runway 09, he heard no other radio transmissions. After takeoff, he kept the airplane in ground effect to gain airspeed. When he looked forward, he saw another airplane about 20 feet above the ground that he realized had just taken off using runway 27. The accident pilot aborted his takeoff, and on touchdown, he landed hard and the right main landing gear collapsed. The other airplane continued the takeoff without incident.
The pilot stated that the airplane and engine had no mechanical failures or malfunctions during the flight.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6744P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-24-250
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 24-1872
- Airframe hours
- 3,600
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- MMH · Mammoth Lakes, CA
- Destination
- SEE · San Diego/El Ca, CA
- Airport
- MMH · Mammoth Lakes, runway 09, 7,000 × 100 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
- 79
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- October 1, 2006
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 3,600 total · 3,300 in this make and model · 3,300 as pilot in command · 20 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 90 °F, dew point 25 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.79 inHg
- Observed at
- BIH, 28 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.
Other investigations on N6744P · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.