- Date
- May 21, 1995, 17:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Freeport, PA
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N6155ZErwin Taylor Mono Plane
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 31, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19950521030129A
- Case key
- 38967
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 decision to initiate a takeoff on an uphill runway with high grass, which resulted in a premature lift off, and an inadvertent stall/mush into trees.
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 elected to use the runway most aligned with the wind for takeoff. It was the shortest of the 3 runways at the airport, all of which had a turf surface. The pilot reported the slope was uphill, the grass was long, and the airplane was slow to accelerate. The airplane became airborne near the end of the runway, in a near stalled condition, and then settled into trees beyond the departure end of the runway.
Factual narrative
On May 21, 1995, at 1730 eastern daylight time, a Taylor Mono Plane, N6155Z, an experimental, homebuilt airplane, struck trees after takeoff from the McVille Airport, Freeport, Pennsylvania. The builder/pilot, John D. Erwin, received minor injuries, and the airplane was substantially damaged. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the flight which was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
McVille airport had three runways, all turf. Runway 3/21 was 2250 feet long, runway 18/36 was 2160 feet long, and runway 11/29 was 1420 feet long.
The pilot reported the winds were from 310 degrees, at 10 knots, with gusts to 15 knots.
In the NTSB Accident report, the pilot stated:
...I attempted to take off from runway 29. The grass was long and the runway lies uphill...The aircraft was slow to accelerate, but I felt it was sufficient for takeoff. I bounced once only to settle on the runway. After a short run further I was in the air but the airspeed was low and I found myself over the end of the runway in a near stall condition with trees ahead. The plane settled into the trees and pitched down and came to rest nose down at the base of the tree....
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6155Z
- Reported as
- Erwin Taylor Mono Plane (TAYLOR MON)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1993
- Airframe hours
- 112
- Engine
- Revmaster 2100-D, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- John D. Erwin
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 30, 1994 · 51 hours before
- Departed
- P37
- Destination
- P53 · Monongahela, PA
- Airport
- P37 · Mc Ville, runway 29, 1,420 × 175 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
- 45
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 720 total · 112 in this make and model · 530 as pilot in command · 28 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 310° at 10 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.