Todd Foley ZENITH 701 N701TF

Summary

On 1 December 2017 at about 21:00 local time, a Todd Foley ZENITH 701 registered N701TF was involved in an accident near Mount Airy, North Carolina, 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

1 December 2017 at 21:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Mount Airy, North Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Mount Airy/Surry County (MWK)

Coordinates

36.4611, -80.5531

Aircraft

Todd Foley ZENITH 701

Registration

N701TF

Category

Airplane

Year built

2016

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Mount Airy → Mount Airy

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA18CA067

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack during takeoff, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.

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, during takeoff, he raised the nose after reaching about 20 mph, and about 40 mph, the airplane lifted off the runway. He "held the stick back just a little [too] long and it started to tip stall to the left and [he] pushed the stick forward." He added that he applied right aileron and rudder because the airplane was drifting to the left side of the runway. Subsequently, the airplane aerodynamically stalled and bounced on the runway, and the right wheel separated from the airplane. He then, with full power, continued to fly and make right aileron and rudder inputs to get back over the runway. The airplane impacted the ground and came to rest inverted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, empennage, and wings. The automated weather observation system at the accident airport reported that, about the time of the accident, the wind was from 090° at 4 knots. The pilot was departing from runway 18.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.