Tri-County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Erie, Colorado 80516
Tuesady, August 20, 2002 10:45 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was taking off on runway 15. Power was applied to the rear engine, followed by power application to the forward engine. The airplane accelerated "slower than usual" and when the airplane was halfway down the runway, the pilot rejected the takeoff because he "couldn't rotate the airplane...it seemed to require more back pressure...it didn't seem right." Power was retarded to idle and brakes applied, but they didn't seem to have any effect. The airplane went off the end of the runway and traveled 500 feet across rough terrain, collapsing the nose landing gear and bending its fairing, and crushing the "Rhino" rudder and engine cowling. The propeller was also bent. A dowel from the left wheel pant was found about halfway down the runway.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

failure of the normal braking system, resulting in the airplane departing the end of the runway. A contributing factor was the airplane's slow acceleration during the takeoff roll.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/20/2002
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1045
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Erie
Event State COLORADO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 80516
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 400037N
Event Location Longitude 1050252W
Event Location Airport Tri-County
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 48V
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 5130
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1046 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID BJC
Elevation of weather observation facility 5670
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 8000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 30
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 10
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 70
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.95
Density Altitude (feet) 8575
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 12522
NTSB Notification Source FAA Comm Center
NTSB Notification Date Aug 20 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1045
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Dec 6 2002 3:26PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Denver, Colorado

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N219DF
NTSB Number DEN02LA099
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 Hildebrandt
Aircraft Model Rutan/Defiant
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 039
Certified Max Gross Weight 3300
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
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 Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Gregory A. Benson
Aircraft Owner Street Address On File
Aircraft Owner City Denver
Aircraft Owner State CO
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 80211
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 48V
Departure City Erie
Departure State CO
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1045
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code 4V1
Destination City Walsenburg
Destination State CO
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 29 2002 11:31AM
User who most recently changed record MCBM
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 15
Runway Length 4700
Runway Width 60
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --