Teratorn TIERRA Unregister

Summary

On 7 June 2009 at about 13:09 local time, a Teratorn TIERRA registered Unregister was involved in an accident near Cutchogue, New York, United States. One person was 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

7 June 2009 at 13:09

Classification

Accident

Location

Cutchogue, New York, United States

Coordinates

40.9875, -72.5189

Aircraft

Teratorn TIERRA

Registration

Unregister

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Cutchogue → Mattituck

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA09CA332

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's decision to attempt takeoff from unsuitable terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that he recently installed a newly rebuilt engine in his unregistered experimental amateur-built airplane and completed a 1-hour break-in procedure the day prior to the accident. He was departing from a soft field and he believed that the engine got wet or that the propeller was damaged by mud or rocks during the takeoff, reducing thrust. The airplane gained only 40 to 50 feet of altitude before it impacted trees. The airplane incurred substantial damage to the empennage. The reason for loss of engine power was not determined. The pilot stated he should have taken the airplane back to his home base and not attempted the takeoff from the soft field.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.