Dansville Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Dansville, New York 14437
Saturday, July 8, 2000 18:40 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Shortly after take-off, the airplane, which was towing a glider, lost all engine power at an altitude about 150 feet above ground level. The glider pilot released the tow-line and landed uneventfully in a nearby field. The airplane turned to the right, landed hard, and came to rest in a field to the right of the runway. The airplane had a sufficient amount of fuel onboard, which was absent of debris and contamination. The engine was run on the airframe utilizing the plane's own fuel system, and ran smoothly at various power settings. Examination of the airplane and engine revealed there were no mechanical malfunctions.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the loss of engine power during take-off for undetermined reasons.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/8/2000
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1840
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City DANSVILLE
Event State NEW YORK
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 14437
Event Date Year 2000
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport DANSVILLE
Event Location Nearest Airport ID DSV
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 762
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1854 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 355
Weather Observation Facility ID ROC
Elevation of weather observation facility 560
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 32
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 11000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
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) 14
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 210
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 799
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 11201
NTSB Notification Source Eastern Region
NTSB Notification Date Jul 8 2000 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 900
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 18 2001 1:05PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4456Z
NTSB Number IAD00LA059
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-18-150
Aircraft Series Identifier PA-18-150
Aircraft Serial Number 18-8803
Certified Max Gross Weight 1750
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 --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name HARRIS HILL SOARING COMPANY
Aircraft Owner Street Address
Aircraft Owner City ELMIRA
Aircraft Owner State NY
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 14903
Operator is an individual? --
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? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
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) Unknown
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code DSV
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1840
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code 4NY8
Destination City HARRIS HILLS
Destination State NY
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Mar 31 2001 4:04AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 32
Runway Length 3600
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --