# NTSB SEA01LA072: Maule M-4-210C, N51463, Bonners Ferry, ID, April 16, 2001 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: April 16, 2001, 13:00 local (20:00 UTC) - Place: Bonners Ferry, ID - Coordinates: 48.749992, -116.510665 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=48.7500&lon=-116.5107&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Takeoff](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/300) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 1 minor - Status: Completed, report February 20, 2002 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FAA - Spokane FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 52088 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=SEA01LA072 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/52088/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=52088 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA01LA072 ## Probable cause Inadequate preflight inspection/preparation of the aircraft by the pilot and consequent foreign object fouling of the rudder control, rendering directional control impossible. A factor was the pilot's distraction/preoccupation with personal problems. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - on ground/water, takeoff - roll/run - aircraft preflight - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) - interpersonal relations, pilot in command (contributing factor) - lack of certification, pilot in command - inadequate recurrent training, pilot in command - flt control syst,rudder control - foreign object (cause) - directional control - not possible - maintenance,annual inspection - not complied with, pilot in command - Main gear collapsed, takeoff - roll/run ## Analysis The pilot reported that his wife had told him she wanted a divorce the day before the accident, and stated: "I believe now I was not prepared to taxi the aircraft, lack of concentration due to stress [sic]." The pilot stated that he applied power, the tail went up, and the aircraft started drifting left. He stated that he then tried to apply right rudder, but "I had left a small cockpit electric heater on [the] floor by [the] rudder pedals, which moved forward [and] locked up [the] rudder pedals." He reported that he was unable to correct the drift and that he then "chopped power" and applied brakes. However, the aircraft went off the left side of the runway, collapsing the right main landing gear and damaging a wing. The pilot indicated on his NTSB accident report that no mechanical malfunction or failure was involved in the accident. ## Factual narrative On April 16, 2001, approximately 1300 Pacific daylight time, a Maule M-4-210C, N51463, registered to and operated by the pilot, departed runway 20 during takeoff roll at Boundary County Airport, Bonners Ferry, Idaho, and was substantially damaged. The pilot of the aircraft, whose private pilot certificate was listed as "canceled" in the FAA airman registry, was the sole occupant of the aircraft and received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR 91 personal flight, which was bound for Sandpoint, Idaho. The pilot reported that his wife had told him she wanted a divorce the day before the accident, and stated: "I believe now I was not prepared to taxi the aircraft, lack of concentration due to stress [sic]." The pilot stated that "the aircraft rudders worked fine on lineup" with the runway, and that there was a right quartering headwind (wind from 210 to 230 degrees magnetic at 6 to 10 knots). The pilot stated that he applied power, the tail went up, and the aircraft started drifting left. He stated that he then tried to apply right rudder, but "I had left a small cockpit electric heater on [the] floor by [the] rudder pedals, which moved forward [and] locked up [the] rudder pedals." He reported that he was unable to correct the drift and that he then "chopped power" and applied brakes. However, the aircraft went off the left side of the runway, collapsing the right main landing gear and damaging a wing. The pilot indicated on his NTSB accident report that no mechanical malfunction or failure was involved in the accident. The FAA airman registry indicated that the pilot had held a private pilot certificate with airplane single-engine land and airplane single-engine sea ratings, but that its status was "canceled" as of the time of the accident. The airman registry also indicated that the date of the pilot's last FAA third-class medical examination was November 3, 1993. The pilot did not provide any more current FAA medical certificate to investigators. The pilot indicated that he did not have a current flight review as per 14 CFR 61.56. The pilot also reported that the date of the airplane's last annual inspection was June 1992, and stated that he had lost the aircraft logbooks while moving out of his house the morning after the accident. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N51463](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N51463), registered now, S/N 1117C (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Maule M-4-210C - Registry model: [Maule M-4-210C](https://openairdocs.org/model/maule-m-4-210c) (registry code 5460112) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental IO-360 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-360-series) (registry code 17025, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 1117C - Engines: Continental IO-360-D 210 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, June 1, 1992, 200 hours before - Departed: 65S, Bonners Ferry, ID - Destination: SZT, Sandpoint, ID - Airport: 65S, Boundary County, runway 20, 4,000 × 75 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 56; injuries: none; medical: class 3, expired; seat: left; flight hours: 6,000 total, 1,000 in this make and model, 6,000 as pilot in command ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 220° at 6 knots, gusting 10 - Visibility: 15 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 50 °F, dew point 34 °F - Altimeter: 29.89 inHg ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20010416008049A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010416008049A), Apr 16, 2001: Maule M4210C, Bonners Ferry, ID, No damage. (-23) While taking off on runway 20 with a left crosswind, airman raised the tail of the airplane and began weathervaning left into the wind. The airplane left… ## Docket (1 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 31, 2002, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=52088. 335 KB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 335 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40473147&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Master.PDF From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.