Gilbert Thomas Jeffrey LANCAIR 235 N91JG

Summary

On 22 July 2017 at about 17:00 local time, a Gilbert Thomas Jeffrey LANCAIR 235 registered N91JG was involved in an accident near Denison, Texas, United States. 2 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

22 July 2017 at 17:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Denison, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

North Texas Rgnl/Perrin Field (GYI)

Coordinates

33.7136, -96.6731

Aircraft

Gilbert Thomas Jeffrey LANCAIR 235

Registration

N91JG

Category

Airplane

Year built

1990

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Denison → Denison

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA17CA435

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during the takeoff roll.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of the experimental, amateur-built airplane reported that he was unfamiliar with the airplane and that, during a prepurchase flight, he was accompanied by an aircraft mechanic/pilot familiar with the airplane. The mechanic, seated in the right seat, instructed him to anticipate adding right rudder when increasing power during takeoff. During takeoff, the pilot applied right rudder; however, he reported that, once full power was applied, the airplane continued to veer to the left. The pilot added that he and the mechanic verbally communicated that they "both were applying right rudder and simultaneous aileron." The pilot then pulled the mixture control to shut off the engine; however, the airplane continued off the left side of the runway. The pilot heard a loud "pop," and the airplane then veered to the right, the landing gear collapsed, and the airplane came to rest off the right side of the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and rudder. The pilot reported that he believed a "mechanical" failure caused the airplane to not respond to inputs from the right rudder, right brake, and right aileron and that the left brake or bearing seized, causing enough friction to overcome the control inputs. The mechanic stated that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. According to the mechanic, the airplane was not equipped with rudder/brake pedals on the right side, and before the flight, the pilot had used the brakes effectively to taxi for takeoff. He further stated, "all brakes were in good shape, and everything was in good operational condition." The automated weather observation system on the airport reported that, about the time of the accident, the wind was from 190° at 7 knots. The pilot was departing on runway 17L.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.