- Date
- July 11, 1994, 14:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Blairstown, NJ
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N2899GChampion 7GCAA
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 12, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940711018169A
- Case key
- 38783
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 directional control during takeoff, resulting in a loss of control and collision with the terrain.
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 was departing runway 07. He stated that when the airplane lifted off, 'the airplane turned right. I could not...correct it.' The wing right impacted the terrain, and the airplane struck gliders parked on the ramp. The wind was reported as light and variable. The FAA examined the airplane and found no control malfunctions.
Factual narrative
On Monday, July 11, 1994, at 1400 eastern daylight time, a Champion 7GCAA, N2899G, registered to Darren A. McKeever and piloted by Allen V. Molner, sustained substantial damage during an attempted takeoff at the Blairstown Airport, Blairstown, New Jersey. The pilot and passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight was being conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
The airplane was departing on runway 07. The pilot stated:
...when I reached liftoff speed-lifted off and the aircraft turned to the right. I could not seem to correct it. The plane ended up on the grass-hit one parked glider and ended up on top of another.
Mr. Morgan Brown, a Federal Aviation Administration Airwothiness Inspector, examined the airplane. In a report he stated:
Inspected N2899G and found that all flight controls were intact and functioned normally.
The wind was reported as light and variable.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2899G
- Reported as
- Champion 7GCAA
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 177
- Airframe hours
- 2,027
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-A2B, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Darren A. Mckeever
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 1, 1994
- Destination
- N07 · Lincoln Park, NJ
- Airport
- 1N7 · Blairstown, runway 7, 3,100 × 70 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
- 62
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 2,879 total · 60 in this make and model · 2,879 as pilot in command · 58 in the last 90 days · 14 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.