- Date
- September 11, 2008, 12:17 local (16:17 UTC)
- Place
- Stevensville, MD
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N644DCDiamond Aircraft Industry DA 20-C1
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 22, 2009
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- Case key
- 68939
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 student pilot's failure to maintain directional control during takeoff.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The solo student pilot stated that as he was initiating a takeoff on runway 11, he increased engine power and rudder input. During the takeoff roll, the student pilot rotated the airplane about 55 knots, and the nose landing gear lifted off the runway. The right wing then rose up and the airplane yawed to the left. The student pilot tried to correct aileron input; however, he moved the control stick rearward, but not to the side. The airplane continued off the left side of the runway and struck an embankment. During the impact, the airplane sustained damage to the landing gear, right wing, propeller, and fuselage. The reported wind at an airport 12 miles west of the accident site, about the time of the accident, was from 110 degrees at 7 knots. The student pilot reported a total flight experience of 13.5 hours, all of which was in the make and model accident airplane and accumulated during the 30 days preceding the accident.
Factual narrative
The solo student pilot of a Diamond DA 20-C1 stated that he was initiating a takeoff on runway 11, a 2,903-foot-long, 60-foot-wide, asphalt runway. As the student pilot increased engine power, he also increased rudder input. During the takeoff roll, the student pilot rotated the airplane about 55 knots, and the nose landing gear lifted off the runway. The right wind then rose up and the airplane yawed to the left. The student pilot tried to correct aileron input; however, he moved the control stick rearward, but not to the side. The airplane continued off the left side of the runway and struck an embankment. During the impact, the airplane sustained damage to the landing gear, right wing, propeller, and fuselage. The reported wind at an airport 12 miles west of the accident site, about the time of the accident, was from 110 degrees at 7 knots. The student pilot reported a total flight experience of 13.5 hours; all of which was in the make and model accident airplane and accumulated during the 30 days preceding the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N644DC
- Reported as
- Diamond Aircraft Industry DA 20-C1
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- C0144
- Airframe hours
- 1,592
- Engine
- Continental Motors IO-240 SER, 125 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Chesapeake Proflight
- Registered owner
- Alejandra Aircraft Holdings Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 16, 2008 · 39 hours before
- Departed
- W29 · Stevensville, MD
- Destination
- W29 · Stevensville, MD
- Airport
- W29 · Bay Bridge Airport, runway 11, 2,903 × 60 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
- Student pilot
- Age
- 22
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 13 total · 13 in this make and model · 13 in the last 90 days · 13 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 110° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 6,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.34 inHg
- Observed at
- ANP, 12 nm away