- Date
- September 14, 1985, 09:45 local (13:45 UTC)
- Place
- Eustis, FL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N520BJBrokaw Bullet
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850914045039A
- Case key
- 31465
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 contacted a ditch during an attempted takeoff on a taxiway. The plt reportedly decided to use the taxiway for takeoff rather than the rwy because of the soft rwy conditions which resulted from recent rains. During takeoff the leftmain gear contacted soft terrain and the acft veered left off the taxiway. The plt then initiated retraction of the landing gear and applied back pressure in an attempt to become airborne. However, the acft continued off the taxiway where it contacted a ditch.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N520BJ
- Reported as
- Brokaw Bullet
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 001
- Airframe hours
- 1,098
- Engine
- Lycoming JO-540, 380 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Bergon Brokaw
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 1, 1985 · 38 hours before
- Destination
- LEE · Leesburg, FL
- Airport
- Midflorida
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
- 65
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land, Multi-engine sea, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 9,884 total · 1,098 in this make and model · 8,296 as pilot in command · 20 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 12 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.