Lebanon, CT, USA
N3740A
QUICKSILVER EIPPER ACFT INC GT 400
The pilot reported that, during the takeoff from a private airstrip, he used only about half of the available runway length. The ultralight airplane reached about 8 to 10 ft above the ground, and the pilot thought it would clear trees at the end of the runway, so he continued the climb. The nose landing gear subsequently cleared the trees, but the main landing gear caught a treetop. The airplane then turned right, stalled, and descended through the trees to the ground. The airplane was heading into gusting wind during the takeoff. A witness reported hearing the engine running after the accident, and the pilot did not report any preexisting mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.
On September 28, 2014, at 1152 eastern daylight time, a Quicksilver Eipper GT 400, N3740A, was substantially damaged when it impacted trees while taking off from a private airstrip in Lebanon, Connecticut. The non-certificated pilot was seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the flight to Richmond Airport (08R), West Kingston, Rhode Island, under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.According to a witness, she was sitting in her living room when she heard what sounded like an airplane taking off from the airstrip located beyond the trees in her back yard. It sounded very loud and low, so she ran to a window at the back of her house to see if it would clear the trees when she heard it hit the trees and then crash. She heard the engine still running for a few minutes after the crash and then it stopped. The pilot was interviewed by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector while recovering in the hospital. According to the inspector, the pilot had flown the airplane from his home airport [08R] to the uncontrolled, private airstrip. It had been about 8 years since he had last flown there, and the pilot was unaware that the airstrip had been shortened by about 200 feet. The pilot did not speak to anyone and stayed there about an hour. When he decided to depart, he configured the airplane with 10-degrees flaps, and departed to the [north]west. In an attempt to clear trees beyond the end of the runway, he pulled back on the control stick and stalled the airplane into those trees. In further correspondence with the NTSB, the pilot stated that he only used about half of the runway to take off. About 8 to 10 feet in the air, the pilot thought the airplane would clear trees at the end of the runway, and he continued the climb. The nose landing gear cleared the trees, but the main landing gear caught the top of a tree. The airplane then turned to the right, stalled, and descended through the trees to the ground. Winds, recorded at a nearby airport at the time of the accident, were from 340 degrees true at 8, gusting 18 knots. Estimated dimensions of the airstrip from a Google Earth view were about 1,050 feet by 40 feet, oriented 290/110 degrees true. The airplane was originally operated under Federal Air Regulations Part 103 for ultralight aircraft. The airplane was registered in 2007, but that registration expired in 2012. The pilot did not possess a pilot certificate, but indicated that he had flown an estimated 2,500 hours in ultralights with about 500 hours in make and model. The pilot did not report any preexisting mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal airplane operation.
The pilot’s misjudgment of the takeoff distance needed to clear trees at the end of the runway.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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