- Date
- August 30, 2008, 16:20 local (20:20 UTC)
- Place
- Sevierville, TN
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N80660Dehavilland DH82A
- Defining event
- Initial climb: Powerplant sys/comp malf/fail
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 22, 2009
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20080830848089A
- Case key
- 68838
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 failure of the wooden propeller.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
During takeoff, at about 100 feet in the air, near the end of the runway, the pilot heard a loud bang and immediately felt an increasing vibration. He reduced engine power and maneuvered to return to the runway. As he lined up for the runway, the engine was producing power but he felt no thrust. The airplane lost altitude and the pilot landed in a rough pasture short of the runway. The landing gear separated and the left wing buckled before coming to a stop. Post-accident examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed the brass tip separated from the wooden propeller and the blades separated to the hub section. The missing pieces of propeller were not located.
Factual narrative
The pilot of the DeHavilland DH-82A stated that shortly after takeoff he heard a loud bang over the engine noise and through the headset, followed immediately by severe vibration which increased until he reduced the power from take off to low cruise. The airplane was about 100 feet in the air and very near the end of the runway when the trouble started. The pilot elected to try to continue the climb and return to the field as quickly as possible. He was able to maintain sufficient airspeed while he turned around and lined up with the runway. Before he made the runway, the engine, though still running, felt like it stopped providing any thrust. The airplane was no longer able to maintain altitude and touched down in a pasture just before the runway. What appeared from the air to be a relatively smooth pasture; however, the terrain was rough and the impact sheared the landing gear. The left wing buckled as it settled to the ground. The pilot estimated that the total time from lift off to touchdown was approximate 2 to 3 minutes. The responding FAA inspector stated that examination of the engine revealed no discrepancies with it and its components. The wooden propeller was destroyed, split to the hub section. The propeller brass tip cap separated which started the initial vibration and tearing the propeller apart; consistent with the pilot’s account of having engine power but no thrust. The missing sections of the propeller were never located.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N80660
- Reported as
- Dehavilland DH82A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 82473
- Airframe hours
- 24
- Engine
- Dehav ENG GIPSY MAJOR, 140 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · April 25, 2008 · 24 hours before
- Departed
- TN20 · Sevierville, TN
- Destination
- TN98 · Knoxville, TN
- Flight plan
- Unknown
- Airport
- TN20 · Seymour Air Park
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
- 55
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- January 30, 2008
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 2,000 total · 15 in this make and model · 13 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.04 inHg
- Observed at
- KTYS, 11 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.