- Date
- November 8, 1991, 08:10 local (15:10 UTC)
- Place
- Coolidge, AZ
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N40625Maule M4-220C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 27, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19911108049989A
- Case key
- 27499
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 directional control of the aircraft during the takeoff ground run due to inadequate compensation for the existing wind conditions. A factor in this accident was the unfavorable wind reported by the pilot.
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 pilot reported that during the takeoff run on runway 30 the aircraft 'crossed a point of change in elevation.' He said the airplane became 'light' and did not have enough airspeed to be controlled by the rudder or aileron. He said the wind caused the aircraft to drift off the airstrip to the west. The pilot reported the wind direction was from 080 degrees at 7 miles per hour, gusting to 10 miles per hour. The aircraft continued, without the pilot being able to gain control, until it collided with a ditch.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N40625
- Reported as
- Maule M4-220C
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 2146C
- Airframe hours
- 1,300
- Engine
- Franklin 220C, 220 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Doug & Carole Henry
- Registered owner
- Doug & Carole Henry
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 23, 1991 · 37 hours before
- Destination
- P06 · Bullhead City, AZ
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- 8E4 · Valley Farms, runway 17, 2,600 × 30 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
- 48
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 735 total · 701 in this make and model · 664 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 80° at 7 knots, gusting 10
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
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 N40625 · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.