- Date
- May 18, 1989, 10:55 local (14:55 UTC)
- Place
- Melbourne, FL
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N29241Piper PA-28RT-201
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 22, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890518012259A
- Case key
- 32434
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 instructors decision to attempt a takeoff in a high density altitude situation, with a quartering tailwind.
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 CFI aborted the takeoff immediately after liftoff and during the abort the acft ran off the rwy end and collided with trees. The CFI stated that he felt that the acft was not developing full power. Post accident invest of the eng revealed no evidence of malfunction. The CFI was using rwy 32 and the wind was from 080 degrees at 12 KTS. The density altitude was about 1,400 ft. this was an instructional flt with 3 persons on board including one student plt and an observer passenger. The takeoff was part of a student plts touch & go lndg. The CFI stated that the takeoff occurred no more than half way down the 4,000 ft rwy but he did not start braking the acft during the abort until 500-600 ft from the departure end of the rwy. The acft proceeded thru the clear zone of the overrun into trees at the end of rwy 32.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N29241
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28RT-201 (PA-28RT-20)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28R-7918157
- Airframe hours
- 4,545
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-C1C6, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Flight Safety Int'L, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Flight Safety International
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- AAIP · May 9, 1989 · 15 hours before
- Departed
- VRB · Vero Beach, FL
- Airport
- X59 · Valkaria, runway 32, 4,000 × 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
- 24
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 700 total · 65 in this make and model · 575 as pilot in command · 250 in the last 90 days · 120 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 80° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MLB, 15 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.