- Date
- September 29, 1995, 14:55 local (18:55 UTC)
- Place
- Rutland, VT
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N3203QPiper PA-28-161
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 9, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19950929046999A
- Case key
- 39057
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
Loss of engine power during takeoff for undetermined reason(s), which resulted in a forced landing and subsequent collision with a tree and barn.
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 landed at Rutland, and the airplane was refueled prior to departure. The pilot departed runway 13. During takeoff, the engine lost power, and the pilot performed a forced landing, during which, the airplane impacted a tree and a barn. Witnesses reported that the engine sounded rough during takeoff and that the airplane would not climb. Postaccident examination revealed no evidence of a preimpact mechanical malfunction with the engine. Additionally, the airport fuel and airplane's fuel were sampled, and no discrepancies were noted.
Factual narrative
On September 29, 1995, about 1455 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-28-161, N3203Q, collided with a tree during a forced landing, following the takeoff, at the Rutland Airport, Rutland, Vermont. The airplane was substantially damaged. The private pilot and two passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The local, personal flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Inspector, the pilot landed at Rutland, and the airplane was refueled. The pilot then started the engine and taxied to runway 13 for departure. During the takeoff, the engine lost power, and the pilot performed a forced landing, during which the airplane impacted a tree and barn.
Additionally, witnesses reported that the engine sounded rough during the takeoff roll, and the airplane did not climb more than 10' above the ground during the initial takeoff climb. One witness stated:
...I heard what sounded like a four cylinder engine running on two or three cylinders. When the sound got closer, I saw that it was coming from an aircraft (Cherokee or similar) departing runway 13. At the departure end of the runway it was only a few feet above the ground and not climbing. It continued on runway heading for less than a mile when it went out of sight....
The FAA Inspector examined the fuel at the airport and in the airplane and found no discrepancies. Additionally, postaccident examination by the FAA Inspector revealed no evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunction of the engine.
At the time of the accident, the pilot had a total of 80 flight hours.
The pilot was requested by the FAA and the NTSB to submit the NTSB Pilot Operator Aircraft Accident Report, form 6120.1/2. To this date, no such form has been received.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3203Q
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-161
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-7716143
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Pierre Gourinchas
- Registered owner
- Mark A. Ridings
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Destination
- BED · Bedford, MA
- Airport
- RUT · Rutland State, runway 13, 3,170 × 75 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
- 27
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 80 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 140° at 11 knots, gusting 14
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- RUT
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.