Huntington County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Mount Union, Pennsylvania 17066
Tuesady, December 31, 2002 12:00 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that he was departing on runway 22, a 3,120-foot long, 80-foot wide, gravel and turf runway. The runway was "soft and soupy," and the airplane did not accelerate properly. The pilot was able to lift two of the landing gear off the runway, but the airplane would not become airborne. The pilot further stated that the accident airplane usually became airborne after a ground roll of about 500 feet, on a paved runway with only one person on board. During the accident takeoff, the wheels didn't begin to break ground until approximately 1,000 beyond the approach end of the runway. The pilot decided to abort the takeoff about 1,600 feet beyond the approach end of the runway. However, the airplane skid on the soft ground, overran the runway at a speed of approximately 35-45 knots and came to rest inverted in a ditch. The pilot added that there were no pre-impact mechanical malfunctions with the airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's delay in aborting the takeoff. A factor was the soft runway.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/31/2002
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1200
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Mount Union
Event State PENNSYLVANIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 17066
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 401905N
Event Location Longitude 0775234W
Event Location Airport Huntington County Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID MUU
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 560
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1153 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 280
Weather Observation Facility ID AOO
Elevation of weather observation facility 1504
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 15
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 25000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
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) 5
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.01
Density Altitude (feet) --
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) 13627
NTSB Notification Source Harrisburg FSDO
NTSB Notification Date Jan 3 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 800
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jul 1 2003 9:44AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Harrisburg, PA

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N136ER
NTSB Number NYC03LA034
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 SOCATA
Aircraft Model TB 9
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 1526
Certified Max Gross Weight 2337
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Dec 2 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 12
Airframe Hours 6961
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Steven Nagorny
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City York
Aircraft Owner State PA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 17403
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 MUU
Departure City Mount Union
Departure State PA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1200
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code THV
Destination City York
Destination State PA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - roll/run
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Apr 7 2003 12:35PM
User who most recently changed record PEAR
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 22
Runway Length 3120
Runway Width 80
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --