Poplar Grove Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Poplar Grove, Illinois 61065
Saturday, July 23, 2011 14:20 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was attempting to perform a midfield takeoff with approximately 1,800 feet of runway remaining. During the departure, the airplane was unable to clear the trees at the departure end of the runway so the pilot executed a right turn to the north. As he made the turn, he realized that there were power lines so he performed an off-airport landing sustaining substantial damage to the left wing and the left side of the fuselage. The pilot reported no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation and said the accident could have been prevented if he had used the entire runway.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's decision to not use all available runway length and his failure to abort the takeoff.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/23/2011
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1420
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Poplar Grove
Event State ILLINOIS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 61065
Event Date Year 2011
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 421922N
Event Location Longitude 0885011W
Event Location Airport Poplar Grove Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID C77
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 858
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1400 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 190
Weather Observation Facility ID RFD
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 15
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Unknown
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 29
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Light and Variable
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
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) 28894
NTSB Notification Source FAA_AGL_ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 13 2011 2:28PM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2844K
NTSB Number CEN11CA547
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 LUSCOMBE
Aircraft Model 8
Aircraft Series Identifier A
Aircraft Serial Number 5571
Certified Max Gross Weight --
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats 2
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft --
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Aug 15 2010 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 2239
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name Pilot
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Poplar Grove
Aircraft Owner State IL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode --
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Pilot
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Poplar Grove
Operator State IL
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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 C77
Departure City Poplar Grove
Departure State IL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1430
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code C77
Destination City Poplar Grove
Destination State IL
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Sep 12 2011 5:28PM
User who most recently changed record galm
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 30
Runway Length 3773
Runway Width 50
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --