- Date
- August 10, 1997, 14:40 local (21:40 UTC)
- Place
- Borrego, CA
- Injuries
- 4 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N577JLAerospatiale TB-20
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 10, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19970810021539A
- Case key
- 29869
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 compensation for the existing wind conditions and his subsequent failure to maintain runway alignment during the takeoff roll.
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 on the takeoff roll, a forceful gust of wind from the northwest hit the aircraft and produced a momentary lifting of the aircraft from the runway and yawed it to the left. The pilot stated that he cut the power and the aircraft settled onto a soft shoulder where the nose wheel dug in and broke off. The propeller struck sand and the engine stopped. The pilot reported winds were variable from 230 to 250 degrees at 10 to 15 knots.
Factual narrative
On August 10, 1997, at 1440 hours Pacific daylight time, an Aerospatiale TB-20, N577JL, veered off runway 25 and collapsed the nose landing gear during the takeoff ground roll at the Borrego Valley, California, airport. The aircraft sustained substantial damage, and the private pilot and three passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions existed for the personal flight, and no flight plan was filed. The flight was scheduled to terminate at the Van Nuys, California, airport.
The pilot reported that on the takeoff roll, a forceful gust of wind from the northwest hit the aircraft and produced a momentary lifting of the aircraft from the runway and yawed it to the left. The pilot stated that he cut the power and the aircraft settled onto a soft shoulder where the nose wheel dug in and broke off. The propeller struck sand and the engine stopped. The pilot reported winds were variable from 230 to 250 degrees at 10 to 15 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N577JL
- Reported as
- Aerospatiale TB-20
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 577
- Airframe hours
- 1,176
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-C4D5D, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Van Nuys Flight Center, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Richard A. Mayer
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 25, 1997 · 1,084 hours before
- Destination
- VNY · Van Nuys, CA
- Airport
- L08 · Borrego Valley, runway 25, 5,000 × 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
- 29
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 194 total · 100 in this make and model · 73 as pilot in command · 95 in the last 90 days · 29 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 15 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.