- Date
- September 19, 1983, 07:30 local (14:30 UTC)
- Place
- Lone Pine, CA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N76744Cessna 120
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dawn
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19830919050979A
- Case key
- 23859
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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 acft collided with a sand bank during takeoff roll, a fuel leak developed and the acft was consumed by fire. The pilot was attempting a takeoff on a dry lake bed when the acft hit a few sand bumps. The nose went up in the air andthe acft came back down hard on the left main gear. The left wing was damaged, fuel leaked and a flash fire started. Theoccupants and a dog got out uninjured before the acft was burned. The pilot and his friends had tried to smooth the lake bed before the flt by filling ruts and measuring off the smoothest part for the takeoff. The area allocated was 900FT long. The pilot had determined the takeoff distance to be 830 ft for the acft at gross weight. He stated that he thought the acft was airborne when the left wheel hit the rise in the terrain just beyond the departure end of the strip.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N76744
- Reported as
- Cessna 120
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 11176
- Airframe hours
- 3,379
- Engine
- Continental C-90-14, 90 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- James Harley Reploge
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 31, 1983
- Departed
- Saline Valley, CA
- Destination
- BIH · Bishop, CA
- Airport
- Saline Valley, runway 27, 1,000 × ft, dirt
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
- 34
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,003 total · 230 in this make and model · 795 as pilot in command · 40 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dawn
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 68 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.