Las Cruces International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Las Cruces, New Mexico 88001
Saturday, November 20, 2004 11:30 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that during rotation the airplane "turned right." He attempted to correct but the airplane continued off the runway to the right and impacted terrain.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's failure to maintain directional control during takeoff.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/20/2004
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1130
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Las Cruces
Event State NEW MEXICO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 88001
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 321722N
Event Location Longitude 1065519W
Event Location Airport LAS CRUCES INTERNATIONAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID LRU
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 260
Airport Elevation 4436
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1111 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 80
Weather Observation Facility ID LRU
Elevation of weather observation facility 4436
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 1000
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) 16
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 6
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 230
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.03
Density Altitude (feet) 5535
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) 17704
NTSB Notification Source FAA Comm Ctr
NTSB Notification Date Nov 20 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1240
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 8 2005 12:51PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office FAA ABQ Flight Standards District Office

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N41MF
NTSB Number DEN05LA028
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 Farrell
Aircraft Model Lancair LC3
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 1
Certified Max Gross Weight 1800
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 Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Feb 1 2004 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 55
Airframe Hours 271
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name On File
Aircraft Owner Street Address On File
Aircraft Owner City Bent
Aircraft Owner State NM
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 88314
Operator is an individual? Yes
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 LRU
Departure City Las Cruces
Departure State NM
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1130
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code ALM
Destination City Alamogordo
Destination State NM
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jun 7 2005 3:14PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\HAMG
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 26
Runway Length 6069
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --