Beechcraft A36 N7247W

Summary

On 1 October 1995 at about 19:15 local time, a Beechcraft A36 registered N7247W was involved in an accident near Cotulla, Texas, United States. 5 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

1 October 1995 at 19:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Cotulla, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Private Ranch Airstrip (NONE)

Coordinates

28.4293, -99.2302

Aircraft

Beechcraft A36

Registration

N7247W

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Houston

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW96LA002

Nobody was injured.

THE PILOT'S DELAY IN ABORTING THE TAKEOFF. A FACTOR WAS THE PILOT'S IMPROPER USE OF THE AIRCRAFT PERFORMANCE DATA.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED TREES AFTER IT OVERRAN THE DEPARTURE END OF THE 2,200-FOOT GRASS STRIP DURING TAKEOFF. THE PILOT STATED THAT INITIALLY THE AIRPLANE ACCELERATED NORMALLY FOR THE SHORT FIELD TAKEOFF UNTIL ROTATION SPEED WAS ATTAINED. SOON AFTER LIFTOFF THE AIRPLANE NEVER GAINED MORE AIRSPEED 'LIKE IF SOMETHING WAS HOLDING THE AIRPLANE DOWN.' THE PILOT FURTHER STATED THAT WHEN HE REALIZED THAT HE WAS NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO CLEAR THE TREES AT THE DEPARTURE END OF THE STRIP, HE ELECTED TO ABORT THE TAKEOFF. HE DETERMINED THAT THE AIRPLANE WAS WITHIN WEIGHT AND BALANCE LIMITS, AND HE CALCULATED THE TAKEOFF DISTANCE AND DETERMINED THAT 'THEY HAD AMPLE TAKEOFF DISTANCE.' A REVIEW OF THE TAKEOFF DISTANCE CHARTS IN THE PILOT'S OPERATING HANDBOOK REVEALED THAT TO CLEAR A 50-FOOT OBSTACLE REQUIRED 2,350 FEET WITH THE FLAPS DOWN, AND 2,950 FEET WITH THE FLAPS UP.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.