Pacific 750XL N750SS

Summary

On 9 September 2016 at about 16:15 local time, a Pacific 750XL registered N750SS, operated by D.C. Skydiving Center, was involved in an accident near Warrenton, Virginia, United States. 14 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

9 September 2016 at 16:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Warrenton, Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Warrenton Air Park (7VG0)

Coordinates

38.6508, -77.7897

Aircraft

Pacific 750XL

Registration

N750SS

Category

Airplane

Year built

2005

Engines

1

Operator

D.C. Skydiving Center

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Skydiving

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Warrenton → Warrenton

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA16CA477

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to set the wing flaps for takeoff, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall, an aborted takeoff, and a runway overrun.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that this was his third skydiving flight of the day and he performed a back taxi on the runway for takeoff. He further reported that as he rotated the airplane for takeoff, he heard a "steady" stall warning horn, the flight controls felt mushy, and the airplane would not climb. The pilot reported that he aborted the takeoff and applied max braking and reverse thrust, but the airplane overran the runway remaining. Subsequently, the landing gear collapsed and the airplane collided with a fence.  The left and right wing sustained substantial damage.  After the accident, the pilot reported that he observed the wing flaps in the fully retracted position. He reported that the flaps should have been set to 20 degrees for takeoff. The pilot reported that he forgot to set the flaps during the back taxi for takeoff because he was communicating with other airplanes near the airport. The pilot reported that he did not use a physical checklist, but he did run through a checklist mentally.    The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.