Fresno Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Fresno, California 93721
Tuesady, April 11, 2000 9:10 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The student pilot was on his third solo flight, his first unsupervised. After applying power for a short field takeoff, the student aborted and the airplane began to veer to the left side of the runway. A runway light was hit as the airplane moved into the unpaved area adjacent to the airstrip. In order to decelerate the airplane, the student pulled back on the controls, but the airplane floated before settling again. The airplane continued through the unpaved area and impacted on the taxiway surface where the nose gear collapsed. The short field takeoffs were requested by the instructor prior to the flight. The student's logbooks indicate that he received instruction in short field takeoff procedures on April 8 and 10, 2000.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The student pilot's loss of directional control on takeoff that resulted in a collision with a taxiway surface.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/11/2000
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 910
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City FRESNO
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 93721
Event Date Year 2000
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 364634N
Event Location Longitude 1194309W
Event Location Airport Fresno Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID FAT
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.1
Degrees magnetic from airport 190
Airport Elevation 336
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 855 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID FAT
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 20000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 19
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.09
Density Altitude (feet) 679
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 12459
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Apr 11 2000 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1111
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Oct 24 2003 10:16AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2500T
NTSB Number LAX00LA149
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-38-112
Aircraft Series Identifier PA-38-112
Aircraft Serial Number 38-78A 0817
Certified Max Gross Weight 1670
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Mar 15 2000 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 50
Airframe Hours 11021
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name GOLDEN EAGLE ENTERPRISES, INC.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 4885 E. SHIELDS , SUITE 201
Aircraft Owner City FRESNO
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 93721
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code FAT
Departure City FRESNO
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1030
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City FRESNO
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Mar 2 2004 10:04AM
User who most recently changed record JOHB
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 29L
Runway Length 7206
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --