SEA03LA105

NTSB accident investigation · Cessna T337G · Lewistown, MT · June 15, 2003

Accident · No injuriesLimited investigationFinal report
Date
June 15, 2003, 11:15 local (17:15 UTC)
Place
Lewistown, MT
Injuries
2 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Initial climb
Aircraft
N4TDCessna T337G
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report March 2, 2004
Report
Approved by Office Director
Parties
FAA-FSDO
FAA report
20030615012959A
Case key
57619

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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Probable cause

Inadequate preflight planning/preparation prior to takeoff, and the pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during the takeoff. An inadvertent stall and rough terrain were factors.

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.

Loss of control - in flightTakeoff - initial climb
Preflight planning/preparation - inadequatePilot in commandCause
Aircraft control - not maintainedPilot in commandCause
Stall - inadvertentPilot in commandFactor
On ground/water encounter with terrain/waterLanding - roll
Terrain condition - rough/unevenFactor

Analysis

The pilot reported that when he landed on the airstrip, he had trimmed the aircraft for a short field landing. During the takeoff, he reported that he did not retrim the aircraft and during the takeoff ground run, the control yoke came back into his lap. The aircraft lifted off briefly, then stalled with the left wing down. The pilot aborted the takeoff and reduced power. The aircraft traveled off the north side of the runway and crossed a rough wheat field. The aircraft came to rest over an embankment along side a dirt road.

Factual narrative

On June 15, 2003, approximately 1115 mountain daylight time, a Cessna T337G, N4TD, registered to and operated by the pilot as a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, collided with rough terrain during an aborted takeoff from a private airstrip located seven miles southwest of Lewistown, Montana. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The aircraft was substantially damaged and the private pilot and his passenger were not injured.

During a telephone interview, the pilot reported that when he landed at the airstrip, he had trimmed the aircraft for a soft field landing. For the takeoff, he reported that he did not retrim the aircraft and during the takeoff ground run, the control yoke came back into his lap. The aircraft lifted off briefly, then stalled with the left wing down. The pilot aborted the takeoff and reduced power. The aircraft traveled off the north side of the runway and crossed a rough wheat field. The aircraft came to rest over an embankment along side a dirt road.

The right main landing gear was sheared off, the outboard section of the right wing contacted the surface, the right side boom was displaced from the empennage and the bottom ends of the vertical fin on both the right and left side were crushed upward.

To date, the pilot has not turned in the National Transportation Safety Board Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report form 6120.1/2.

Aircraft

Registration
N4TD
Reported as
Cessna T337G
Category
Airplane
Serial number
P337-0093
Airframe hours
3,019
Engine
Continental TSIO-360-CB3, 225 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Registered owner
Kenneth D. Tolliver
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Last inspection
Annual · September 9, 2002
Departed
Lewistown, MT
Destination
BIL · Billings, MT
Airport
Beacon Star, runway 30, 3,700 × ft

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
57
Injuries
None
Certificate
Private
Airplane ratings
Multi-engine land
Instrument ratings
Airplane
Medical
Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
Seat
Left
Flight hours
750 total · 450 in this make and model

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
68 °F, dew point 54 °F
Altimeter
30.12 inHg
Observed at
LWT, 7 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.