BIGGS, CA, USA
N6030T
CESSNA 150D
THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND, WHO HOLDS A FOREIGN COMMERCIAL/AIRLINE TRANSPORT PILOT CERTIFICATE AND HAS ACCRUED MORE THAN 16,000 HOURS, WAS FAMILIARIZING HIMSELF WITH THE AIRSTRIP WITH THE OWNER OF THE AIRPLANE, A CERTIFICATED COMMERCIAL PILOT. THE FIRST PILOT LIFTED OFF AT A LOW AIRSPEED AND BEGAN TO DRIFT TO THE LEFT. THE AIRPLANE'S LEFT WING LEADING EDGE STRUCK A TREE LIMB ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE RUNWAY.
On June 3, 1993, at 1630 hours Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 150D, N6030T, collided with some trees shortly after departing a privately owned grass airstrip near Biggs, California. The pilot was beginning a local visual flight rules personal flight. The airplane, registered to and operated by the right front seat occupant, sustained substantial damage. Neither the first pilot, a certificated private pilot, nor the certificated commercial pilot/passenger occupying the right front seat, was injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The first pilot reported in the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1/2, that at ". . . rotation everything was normal..." The airspeed and rate of climb was "good." The airplane began to drift to the left when the airplane was between thirty-five (35) and fifty (50) feet above the ground. The right wing stalled and struck a low hanging tree limb. The first pilot indicated in the accident report form that he holds a foreign commercial/airline transport pilot certificate and has accrued sixteen thousand, seven hundred (16,700) flight hours of which one thousand (1,000) hours were flown in single engine aircraft and four (4) hours in the accident airplane make and model. He also indicated that he does not hold a medical certificate and has not completed a biennial flight review within the preceding 24-calendar months. The passenger reported in the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1/2, that the purpose of the flight was to familiarize the first pilot with flying from the privately owned airstrip. After completing the preflight run-up, the first pilot positioned the airplane to the left of the center of the runway. During the takeoff roll, the first pilot rotated the airplane at a low airspeed causing the stall warning horn to activate momentarily. After lift-off, the passenger advised the pilot that the airplane was drifting too far to the left. When the airplane was about 1,000 feet from the departure end of the runway, the left wing struck a small oak tree branch about fifteen (15) feet above the ground. The branch, about six (6) inches in diameter and about six (6) feet long, impaled the leading edge of the left wing about ten (10) inches inboard of the wing tip. The pilot/passenger reported in a telephone interview that the first pilot told him he was current and held the necessary medical certificate. He also stated that the surface winds were calm.
THE FIRST PILOT'S PREMATURE LIFT-OFF AND HIS FAILURE TO MAINTAIN DIRECTIONAL CONTROL.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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