- Date
- May 23, 2014, 12:30 local (18:30 UTC)
- Place
- Roundup, MT
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N3460APiper PA 22
- Defining event
- Takeoff-rejected takeoff: Runway excursion
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 7, 2015
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20140523024189A
- Case key
- 90761
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 delayed action to abort the takeoff. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's inadequate preflight planning and a high density altitude.
Findings · 5
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 1,200-foot long turf airstrip, the airplane accelerated beyond a speed he anticipated for rotation and remained on the ground. Despite the pilot's attempt to abort the takeoff and stop the airplane, it overran the departure end of the runway and struck multiple trees before it came to rest upright. The fuselage and both wings were substantially damaged. The pilot stated that at the time of the accident, it was unseasonably warm and the degradation of the airplane's performance was significantly more than he had anticipated. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that during takeoff from a 1,200-foot long turf airstrip, the airplane accelerated beyond a speed he anticipated for rotation and remained on the ground. Despite the pilot's attempt to abort the takeoff and stop the airplane, it overran the departure end of the runway and struck multiple trees before it came to rest upright. The fuselage and both wings were substantially damaged. The pilot stated that at the time of the accident, it was unseasonably warm and the degradation of the airplane's performance was significantly more than he had anticipated. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3460A
- Reported as
- Piper PA 22 (UNDESIGNAT)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 22-1744
- Built
- 1953
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- John Bake
- Registered owner
- White John M
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- None · Roundup, MT
- Destination
- None · Roundup, MT
- Airport
- None · Private Airstrip, runway 27, 1,200 × 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
- 27
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- October 5, 2012
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 448 total · 8 in this make and model · 436 as pilot in command · 19 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 110° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- KBIL, 38 nm away
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 2, 2015, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.1 MB 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.