Piper PA22 N5069Z

Summary

On 9 April 2016 at about 19:30 local time, a Piper PA22 registered N5069Z, operated by Malvin R. Respess, was involved in an accident near Pantego, North Carolina, United States. One person was on board and one 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

9 April 2016 at 19:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Pantego, North Carolina, United States

Coordinates

35.6344, -76.7539

Aircraft

Piper PA22

Registration

N5069Z

Category

Airplane

Year built

1961

Engines

1

Operator

Malvin R. Respess

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Aerial Observation

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Pantego → Pantego

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA16CA183

1 person had minor injuries.

A loss of directional control during the takeoff roll in gusting wind conditions, which resulted in a runway excursion, a nose over, and an impact with terrain. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's decision to takeoff in gusting crosswind conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that during the takeoff roll on a grass airstrip, a "strong burst of wind" blew his airplane out of control. The airplane departed the grass airstrip to the right, nosed over, and came to rest in a canal. He reported that he had not reached rotation when the loss of control occurred. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, both wings, the vertical stabilizer, and the rudder. The pilot verified that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that he took off from the grass airstrip with a heading of 020 degrees about 1530 and the wind gust just before rotation came from the west. He reported that the wind velocity at the accident site was 15 knots gusting to 20 knots, and the wind direction was 320 degrees. The closest weather reporting facility to the accident location reported that from 1510 to 1530, the wind velocity varied from 15 to 17 knots with occasional gusts from 25 knots to 33 knots, and the wind direction was 290 degrees. The Federal Aviation Administration has published the Airplane Flying Handbook FAA-H-8083-3A (2004). This handbook discusses operations in crosswind conditions and states in part: Takeoffs and landings in certain crosswind conditions are inadvisable or even dangerous. If the crosswind is great enough to warrant an extreme drift correction, a hazardous landing condition may result. Therefore, the takeoff and landing capabilities with respect to the reported surface wind conditions and the available landing directions must be considered. The headwind component and the crosswind component for a given situation can be determined by reference to a crosswind component chart. It is imperative that pilots determine the maximum crosswind component of each airplane they fly, and avoid operations in wind conditions that exceed the capability of the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.