- Date
- May 30, 2006, 13:30 local (17:30 UTC)
- Place
- Leesburg, VA
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N460CTFlight Design Gmbh
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 3, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20060530022239A
- Case key
- 63812
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 improper remedial action to regain directional control after takeoff. A factor was the pilot's failure to maintain directional control after takeoff.
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 reported that just after takeoff, the airplane drifted to the right. The pilot turned to the left using both the control stick and the rudder, and the left wing "dipped." The pilot then moved the control stick and rudder to the right; however, the left wing tip struck the ground, and the airplane came to rest at an approximately 30-degree angle toward the runway. The pilot also noted that he took off from runway 17, consistent with landing and departing traffic, but that the winds were from 340 degrees true at 5 knots. The pilot did not report any mechanical anomalies.
Factual narrative
The pilot of a Flight Design Gmbh reported that just after takeoff, the airplane drifted to the right. The pilot turned to the left using both the control stick and the rudder, and the left wing "dipped." The pilot then moved the control stick and rudder to the right; however, the left wing tip struck the ground, and the airplane came to rest at an approximately 30-degree angle toward the runway. The pilot also noted that he took off from runway 17, consistent with landing and departing traffic, but that the winds were from 340 degrees true at 5 knots. The pilot did not report any mechanical anomalies.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N460CT
- Reported as
- Flight Design Gmbh
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 05-07-06
- Engine
- Rotax 912ULS, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Operator
- John Calla, doing business as Liberty Sport Aviation, LLC
- Registered owner
- Liberty Sport Aviation, LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Special light-sport (Special)
- Departed
- JYO · Leesburg, VA
- Destination
- LNS · Lancaster, PA
- Flight plan
- VFR
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
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2
- Flight hours
- 2,235 total · 63 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N460CT · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.