Old Town Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Old Town, Maine 04468
Monday, May 17, 2004 18:10 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that during the takeoff roll, when the airplane reached about 1/3 the runway's length (about 1,060 feet), he thought it should have been airborne. At 2/3 the runway's length (about 2,120 feet), the pilot knew he had a problem, but "rotated" the airplane at 40 knots and became airborne. After rotation, he felt that the engine was not developing full power, and was "sluggish and lacking horsepower." The pilot briefly employed carburetor heat, then attempted to adjust the engine's mixture control; however, neither adjustment improved the airplane's performance. After bouncing once in a field, the pilot was able to land the airplane on an interstate median, where it nosed over in muddy terrain. There was no evidence of mechanical malfunction. Computation of weight and balance information provided by the pilot revealed that the airplane was 184 pounds over maximum gross weight at takeoff. Performance data revealed that an airplane at maximum gross weight should have been airborne in less than 600 feet of runway distance.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to abort the takeoff. Factors were the pilot's incorrect assessment of the airplane's weight and the muddy terrain.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/17/2004
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1810
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Old Town
Event State MAINE
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 04468
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 445400N
Event Location Longitude 0684500W
Event Location Airport Old Town Municipal Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID OLD
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 2
Degrees magnetic from airport 240
Airport Elevation 126
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1753 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 200
Weather Observation Facility ID BGR
Elevation of weather observation facility 192
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 11
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling --
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 18
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 9
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 190
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 13
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.32
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 17175
NTSB Notification Source PWM FSDO
NTSB Notification Date May 27 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 820
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jan 27 2005 3:52PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Portland

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N7793E
NTSB Number IAD04LA023
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 150
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 17593
Certified Max Gross Weight 1400
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 Jul 20 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 91.3
Airframe Hours 5224
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Brewer Flying Club, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address P.O. Box 395
Aircraft Owner City Brewer
Aircraft Owner State ME
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 04412
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 OLD
Departure City Old Town
Departure State ME
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1807
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record --
User who most recently changed record --
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 22
Runway Length 3199
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --