- Date
- October 26, 2004, 13:55 local (17:55 UTC)
- Place
- Custar, OH
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N28539Fairchild 24R-40
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 8, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA FSDO-25
- FAA report
- 20041026029939A
- Case key
- 60439
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 aircraft control during takeoff, which resulted in a collision with terrain. A factor was a crosswind.
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 had his airman and mechanic certificates revoked by the FAA about 2 years prior to the accident. He intended to sell the airplane, and was in the process of reinstalling the original engine, and bringing the airplane up to specifications. On the day of the accident, the pilot started the engine and attempted to depart on runway 18, an approximate 1,100-foot long, 25-foot wide, turf runway. A witness could not see the airplane as it passed behind a barn, but then saw it resting on its right side, off the right side of the runway. The reported wind about the time of the accident, was from 100 degrees at 8 knots. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any pre-impact mechanical malfunctions.
Factual narrative
On October 26, 2004, about 1355 eastern daylight time, a Fairchild 24R-40, N28539, was substantially damaged during takeoff from a private airstrip in Custar, Ohio. The non-certificated pilot was seriously injured, and subsequently passed away 42 days later. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, the pilot was involved in a forced landing with the same airplane during September 2002. That investigation revealed that the pilot was flying without a medical certificate, which had been denied approximately 10 years prior. In addition, the pilot had performed an unauthorized alteration to the airplane by installing a Chevrolet V-8 engine. Subsequently, his private pilot certificate, airframe and powerplant certificate, and inspector airworthiness certificate were revoked.
The pilot's stepson stated that the pilot had intended to sell the airplane. The pilot reinstalled the original engine, and was attempting to bring the airplane up to specifications. On the day of the accident, the stepson heard the engine running, and assumed the pilot was testing it. The stepson then observed the tailwheel airplane traveling on runway 18, an approximate 1,100-foot long, 25-foot wide, turf runway. The stepson could not see the airplane as it passed behind a barn, and then saw it resting on its right side, off the right side of the runway.
The reported wind at an airport approximately 20 miles north of the accident site, at 1352, was from 100 degrees at 8 knots.
Examination of the wreckage by an FAA inspector did not reveal any pre-impact mechanical malfunctions.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N28539
- Reported as
- Fairchild 24R-40
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- R40-418
- Engine
- Fairchild 6-440, 175 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Paul D. Philo
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Departed
- NONE · Custar, OH
- Airport
- NONE, runway 18, 1,100 × 25 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
- 80
- Injuries
- Serious
- Medical
- Expired
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 3,500 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 100° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.17 inHg
- Observed at
- TOL, 20 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.