- Date
- August 31, 2019, 11:05 local (18:05 UTC)
- Place
- El Monte, CA
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N551WHCessna 510
- Defining event
- Takeoff-rejected takeoff: Runway excursion
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 3
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Adminsitration
- FAA report
- 20190831022419A
- Case key
- 100176
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 disengage the parking brake before takeoff, which resulted in decreased acceleration and a subsequent runway overrun following an aborted takeoff.
Findings · 3
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, while holding short of the runway, he set the parking brake while waiting for his takeoff clearance. Upon receiving takeoff clearance, he reached down to the parking brake handle and, "quickly pushed the parking brakes back in"; however, he did not visually verify that he disengaged the parking brake. During the takeoff roll, he noticed that the airplane was not accelerating beyond about 70 knots and decided to abort the takeoff. The airplane subsequently veered to the left, exited the departure end of the runway, and impacted an airport perimeter fence. The pilot reported that he must have not fully disengaged the parking brake before takeoff and that there were no mechanical issues with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the parking brake handle was partially extended, which likely resulted in the airplane’s decreased acceleration during the takeoff roll.
Factual narrative
On August 31, 2019, about 1105 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 510 airplane, N551WH, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near El Monte, California. The airline transport pilot and passenger sustained minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported that, while holding short of the runway while waiting for his takeoff clearance, he set the parking brake. Upon obtaining his takeoff clearance, he reached down to the parking brake handle and, "quickly pushed the parking brakes back in." During the takeoff roll, he noticed that the airplane was not accelerating beyond about 70 knots and decided to abort the takeoff. The airplane subsequently veered to the left, exited the runway, impacted a fence, and came to rest upright about 800 ft beyond the departure end of the runway. The pilot stated that he must not have pushed the parking brake handle all the way in, and that he never visually verified its position before takeoff. The pilot further reported that there were no mechanical issues with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the airplane came to rest upright at the airport perimeter fence. The fuselage and both wings were structurally damaged. The inspector observed the parking brake handle partially extended, and when he pulled the handle, it moved about 1/2-inch.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N551WH
- Reported as
- Cessna 510
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 510-0055
- Built
- 2008
- Engines
- Pratt & Whitney Canada PW615F-A, 1,460 lbs thrust, turbo fanPratt & Whitney Canada PW615F-A, 1,460 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- EMT · El Monte, CA
- Destination
- Thermal, ID
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- EMT · San Gabriel Valley, runway 01, 3,995 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Angle of attack indicator, ADS-B, Stall warning system, Onboard weather, Electronic primary flight display, Electronic multifunction display, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Auto-pilot
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
- 62
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 5-point
- Flight hours
- 2,217 total · 477 in this make and model · 1,945 as pilot in command · 28 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 150° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.94 inHg
- Observed at
- KEMT, 1 nm away
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 21, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 6.5 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.