Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

New Castle, Pennsylvania 16101
Tuesady, May 25, 2004 16:10 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot attempted to takeoff from an approximately 1,500-foot portion of a field, on a 270 degree heading. The pilot said he initiated a short field takeoff, and had intended to make a trial run of about 500 feet to test the terrain; however, he felt that the acceleration was so good that he extended the takeoff roll and attempted to break ground. The airplane encountered some uneven terrain and the pilot aborted the takeoff. The airplane nosed over and came to rest in a tree line. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector witnessed the takeoff. The inspector noted that if the pilot had departed to the south, approximately 5,000 feet of terrain was available for the takeoff roll. The pilot reported to the FAA inspector that he realized he was not going to clear the trees, so he aborted the takeoff and intentionally ground-looped the airplane. Winds reported at an airport located about 9 miles south of the accident site, about the time of the accident, were from 220 degrees at 10 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to use all available takeoff area and his delay in aborting the takeoff.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/25/2004
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1610
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City New Castle
Event State PENNSYLVANIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 16101
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 405628N
Event Location Longitude 0802051W
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID NONE
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1547 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 180
Weather Observation Facility ID BVI
Elevation of weather observation facility 1253
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 9
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 4000
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) 25
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 19
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 220
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) 29.82
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) 16170
NTSB Notification Source FAA EROC
NTSB Notification Date May 25 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1818
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 1 2004 7:08AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Allegheny

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N1996V
NTSB Number NYC04CA131
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 120
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 14207
Certified Max Gross Weight 1450
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 May 17 2004 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 3
Airframe Hours 2447
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name John M. Greer
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Pittsburgh
Aircraft Owner State PA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 15216
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 NONE
Departure City New Castle
Departure State PA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code UCP
Destination City New Castle
Destination State PA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - aborted
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jun 15 2004 1:42PM
User who most recently changed record PEAR
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --