Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Turners Falls Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Montague, Massachusetts 01376
Saturday, December 17, 2011 10:30 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot reported that, during the takeoff roll, as the airplane accelerated to 40 mph, the engine sputtered, and he reduced power with sufficient runway remaining to stop; however, the sputtering ceased, and he then added power to continue the takeoff attempt. The engine sputtered a second time, and the pilot reduced engine power again. At that point, he was concerned about the length of runway remaining and elected to steer off the left side of the runway, rather than risk going off the end of the runway and down into a ditch. As the airplane departed the left side of the runway, it struck a runway sign and sustained substantial damage to the aft fuselage and empennage. The pilot subsequently defueled and moved the airplane before it could be examined. Therefore, it was not possible to verify the fuel quantity or determine if any fuel contamination was present. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal evidence of any preimpact mechanical failures. The pilot reported that he should have aborted the takeoff earlier.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's delay in performing a rejected takeoff after experiencing an intermittent loss of engine power, which resulted in a runway excursion.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 12/17/2011 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1030 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Montague |
| Event State | MASSACHUSETTS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 01376 |
| Event Date Year | 2011 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 423530N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0723123W |
| Event Location Airport | Turners Falls Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 0B5 |
| 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 | 359 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1052 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 110 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | ORE |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 555 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 10 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| 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) | 2 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -5 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 310 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 8 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.07 |
| 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) | 29571 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Windsor Locks FSDO |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 25 2012 1:55PM |
| User who most recently changed record | gots |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N89809 |
| NTSB Number | ERA12CA118 |
| 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 | 8858 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1450 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| 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 14 2011 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 31 |
| Airframe Hours | 2579 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | ROSKE JOHN L |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | ASHFIELD |
| Aircraft Owner State | MA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 01330-9764 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | ROSKE JOHN L |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | ASHFIELD |
| Operator State | MA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 01330-9764 |
| 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 | 0B5 |
| Departure City | Montague |
| Departure State | MA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1030 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | ORE |
| Destination City | Orange |
| Destination State | MA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 25 2012 1:56PM |
| User who most recently changed record | gots |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 34 |
| Runway Length | 3200 |
| Runway Width | 75 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |