Cedar Mills Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Gordonville, Texas 76245
Sunday, July 4, 2004 9:30 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The 4,333-hour pilot stated that there was an "almost direct crosswind," as the airplane attempted to takeoff from a 3,000 feet long turf runway. The runway was reported to be "soft" and the pilot expected a longer than normal takeoff roll and elected to use the "soft field" takeoff procedure. The pilot further stated that acceleration was "a bit slower than he was used to, but seemed OK." Approximately halfway down the runway, "the airplane became airborne, with a short squawk from the stall warning system." The pilot "let off some back pressure, and the airplane touched down for a few feet before getting airborne again." As the airplane passed a large tree on the departure end of the runway, the pilot reported that a "gust of wind" caught the right win, and the nose dipped down. Subsequently, the left wing impacted water before the airplane came to rest in an inverted position in a lake.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's premature lift-off and his failure to abort the takeoff. Contributing factors were the soft and muddy runway conditions and the unfavorable winds.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/4/2004
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 930
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Gordonville
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 76245
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 335021N
Event Location Longitude 0964836W
Event Location Airport Cedar Mills Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 3T0
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.25
Degrees magnetic from airport 90
Airport Elevation 640
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 950 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 135
Weather Observation Facility ID GYI
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 10
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 1700
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) 28
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 23
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 210
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 15
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.92
Density Altitude (feet) 2333
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 2
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 16520
NTSB Notification Source FAA Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date Jul 4 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1800
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Oct 28 2004 10:11AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Dallas, Texas

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6241L
NTSB Number FTW04LA174
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 Grumman
Aircraft Model AA-1
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number AA1-0441
Certified Max Gross Weight 1500
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 Sep 1 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 25
Airframe Hours 1995
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Daniel Campbell
Aircraft Owner Street Address 913 Aviator Drive
Aircraft Owner City Fort Worth
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 76179
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) Unknown
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code 3T0
Departure City Cedar Mills
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 930
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code T67
Destination City Saginaw
Destination State TX
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Aug 30 2004 3:50PM
User who most recently changed record CASH
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 07
Runway Length 3000
Runway Width 60
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --