- Date
- May 9, 1999, 12:15 local (16:15 UTC)
- Place
- Leesburg, FL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N18904Ryan ST-A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 7, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19990509020449A
- Case key
- 46285
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 adequate clearance from the fence.
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 departed from a private grass strip and the airplane struck a 5 foot tall fence at the departure end of the runway. According to the pilot, the airplane 'acted as if it was getting full power,' and the gauges showed everything was 'okay.' After lifting off the airplane struck a fence, flipped over, and nosed over in a cow pasture.
Factual narrative
On May 9, 1999, about 1215 eastern daylight time, a Ryan ST-A, N18904, registered to a private individual, impacted with a fence during takeoff from a private airstrip near Leesburg, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time, and no flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight. The airplane was substantially damaged. The airline transport-rated pilot and one passenger reported no injuries. The flight was originating at the time.
The airplane was taking off from a private grass strip and struck a 5-foot-tall fence at the departure end of the runway. According to the pilot, "...did not accelerate/obtain adequate take off speed. Hit fence at end of runway [and] flipped over." There were no discrepancies found with either the airframe or the engine.
According to the Lake County Sheriff's report, the pilot told a deputy, "...the plane acted as if it was getting full power, but the gauges advised everything was okay...as he lifted off the plane caught the fence and flipped over landing upside down in a cow pasture."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N18904
- Reported as
- Ryan ST-A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 188
- Airframe hours
- 1,189
- Engine
- Menasco CS-4, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Roger W. & Joanne Sherman
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Aerobatic; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 10, 1999 · 15 hours before
- Airport
- NONE · Skye Ranch, runway 8, 1,600 × 60 ft, grass/turf
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
- 60
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter, Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 4,500 total · 90 in this make and model · 3,500 as pilot in command · 30 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LEE
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.