Luscombe 8A N45628

Summary

On 21 July 2004 at about 23:30 local time, a Luscombe 8A registered N45628 was involved in an accident near Merrill, Wisconsin, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

21 July 2004 at 23:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Merrill, Wisconsin, United States

Nearest airport

Merrill Muni (RRL)

Coordinates

45.1989, -89.7128

Aircraft

Luscombe 8A

Registration

N45628

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Merrill → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI04CA189

2 people had minor injuries.

The dual student's failure to maintain directional control during the initial climb after takeoff and the flight instructor's delayed remedial action. A contributing factor was that all available runway was not used for takeoff due to the touch-and-go operation. An additional factor was the swamp terrain encountered.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The single-engine tail-wheel equipped airplane was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain after takeoff. The flight instructor reported that he and a dual student were practicing takeoffs and landings with a left crosswind of approximately 8 miles per hour. During the fourth takeoff, the student lifted off with "near perfect" directional control, however, the aircraft subsequently yawed 30 to 40 degrees to the right at which time the student released the controls. The flight instructor stated that he immediately assumed the controls and applied full left rudder. He reported that the aircraft settled into ground effect. He held the plane in ground effect in an attempt to gain airspeed, however, the aircraft subsequently settled into a swamp area beyond the end of the runway. The flight instructor and dual student reported no known malfunction of the aircraft or engine prior to the accident. At 1835, the RRL automated weather observing system recorded winds from 250 degrees at 5 knots.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.