- Date
- July 1, 1995, 16:45 local (20:45 UTC)
- Place
- Brant, NY
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N72168Cessna 337G
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 31, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19950701015969A
- Case key
- 38983
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 takeoff with a tailwind condition on an unimproved grass strip and a subsequent premature rotation resulting in an aborted takeoff and a subsequent collision with a utility pole on the departure end of the grass strip.
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 stated that during the takeoff, '...pilot sneezed. Aircraft pitched up [and] rotated prematurely....' The pilot aborted the takeoff. During the aborted takeoff, the airplane overran the mowed portion of the grass strip and collided with a utility pole at the departure end of the strip. Postaccident examination revealed no anomalies with the engine or airframe.
Factual narrative
On July 1, 1995, about 1645 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 337G, N72168, piloted by Earnest O. Bower, was substantially damaged during takeoff from a private grass strip, in Brant, New York. The pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. There was no flight plan for the flight conducted under CFR 14 Part 91.
In the NTSB form 6120.1/2, the pilot stated,
Conditions favored takeoff to east. Normal takeoff run. Pilot sneezed, aircraft pitched up [and] rotated prematurely. Decision to abort takeoff. Pilot landed. During roll out, plane suddenly turned 90 degrees left...caused by rock stopping left main wheel. Could not stop before left wing struck power pole.
Additionally, the pilot reported that the winds were from the northwest at 4 knots. At Chautauqua County, Jamestown, New York, about 30 miles to the southwest, the winds were reported from 310 degrees at 8 knots.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Inspector stated in his report:
...[The] accident occurred as Mr. Bower was attempting a takeoff from this unimproved farm field....In [this]...accident, the takeoff was attempted with a tailwind estimated at 8 to 10 knots and field growth of approximately 12 inches....The aircraft struck a utility pole at the east end of the field and crossed a road before stopping. The takeoff run had begun on a mowed strip approximately 1500 feet long at the west end of the field, and ended in an unmowed area approximately 2000 feet long at the east end of the field....
Postaccident examination by the FAA Inspector revealed no anomalies with the engine or airframe.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N72168
- Reported as
- Cessna 337G
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 33701532
- Engine
- Continental IO-360, 210 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- New Horizons Interprises Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Destination
- Louisville, KY
- Airport
- Clark Field, runway 9, 2,000 × 40 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
- 64
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,160 total · 629 in this make and model · 1,138 as pilot in command · 57 in the last 90 days · 24 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 310° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- JHW, 30 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.