Cessna 340 N5418M

Summary

On 3 May 2019 at about 22:00 local time, a Cessna 340 registered N5418M was involved in an accident near Carvers, Nevada, United States. 5 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

3 May 2019 at 22:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Carvers, Nevada, United States

Nearest airport

Private Field (N/A)

Coordinates

38.9669, -117.1828

Aircraft

Cessna 340

Registration

N5418M

Category

Airplane

Year built

1971

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Caldwell → Carvers

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA19CA281

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to accurately assess the available runway for the takeoff, which resulted in impact with a gravel berm.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of the multiengine airplane reported that, while using a short-field takeoff technique on a private, dirt airstrip, the airplane encountered soft patches of dirt. He rotated the airplane to initiate a climb, but the airplane could not climb higher than ground effect, and the stall horn sounded. He lowered the nose to gain airspeed, but the landing gear impacted a gravel berm, which sheared off the landing gear. The airplane then skidded 150 ft and came to rest in a dirt field past the end of the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing and right horizontal stabilizer. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot also reported that, before takeoff, he determined that there was about 5,000 ft of usable runway; however, the runway was actually about 3,500 ft long. He added that he believed the airport elevation was about 5,000 ft mean sea level, and the density altitude was about 8,000 ft. Given this information, it is likely that the pilot's failure to accurately assess the available runway resulted in impact with a gravel berm during the attempted takeoff.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.