Pickens County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Pickens, South Carolina 29671
Wednesday, July 10, 2002 22:33 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that he had not removed the gust lock and during the takeoff roll, as he was ready to rotate, he noticed the mistake and tried to abort the takeoff, but the airplane continued on exiting the end of the runway and colliding with trees.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's improper preflight planning/preparation that resulted in the airplane's gust lock being left installed which resulted in a loss of control during the takeoff roll and damage to the airplane when it exited the departure end of the runway and collided with trees.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/10/2002
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 2233
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Pickens
Event State SOUTH CAROLINA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 29671
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 344859N
Event Location Longitude 0824217W
Event Location Airport Pickens County Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID LQK
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 1013
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 2254 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID CEU
Elevation of weather observation facility 892
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Night
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 28
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 20
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 220
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.12
Density Altitude (feet) 2200
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 12212
NTSB Notification Source FAA ATL Comm Center
NTSB Notification Date Jul 11 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 9
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Aug 28 2002 10:10AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Columbia, South Carolina

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N737CQ
NTSB Number MIA02LA132
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
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 Cessna
Aircraft Model 172N
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 17269317
Certified Max Gross Weight 2300
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection May 22 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 90
Airframe Hours 3193
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Two Beagles Inc.,
Aircraft Owner Street Address 3511 Silverside Road, Suite 105
Aircraft Owner City Wilmington
Aircraft Owner State DE
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 19810
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) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code LQK
Departure City Pickens
Departure State SC
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone SY
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code AIK
Destination City Aiken
Destination State SC
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - roll/run
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred Yes
Date of most recent change to record Aug 7 2002 8:45AM
User who most recently changed record KENJ
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 23
Runway Length 5002
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --