- Date
- September 8, 2013, 07:45 local (13:45 UTC)
- Place
- Nashua, MT
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N5515VMaule M-7-260C
- Defining event
- Takeoff-rejected takeoff: Landing gear collapse
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 19, 2013
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- FAA report
- 20130908019009A
- Case key
- 88020
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 failure to maintain clearance from a berm during the takeoff, which resulted in a loss of directional control.
Findings · 4
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that during takeoff from a private dirt airstrip, the airplane collided with a dirt berm and ground looped. The berm was a result of recent work in the area of the airstrip. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and the right wing. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that during takeoff from a private dirt airstrip, the airplane collided with a dirt berm and ground looped. The berm was a result of recent work in the area of the airstrip. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and the right wing. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5515V
- Reported as
- Maule M-7-260C
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 30023C
- Airframe hours
- 573.5
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540 SER, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 24, 2013 · 12 hours before
- Departed
- Nashua, MT
- Destination
- Nashua, MT
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
- 48
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 24, 2012
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 1,413 total · 98 in this make and model · 1,114 as pilot in command · 40 in the last 90 days · 21 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 150° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 900 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.97 inHg
- Observed at
- GGW, 15 nm away
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 21, 2013, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 532 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.