Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Spring Hill Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Sterling, Pennsylvania 18444
Wednesday, May 9, 2012 22:25 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot landed at the airport for the first time, and he and two passengers went to dinner with family members. They returned to the airport after dark for the return flight to the pilot’s home base. According to the surviving passenger, the pilot initiated the takeoff roll from a taxiway intersection and did not utilize the entire runway. The 2,478 foot-long runway had a 2.4 percent upslope in the takeoff direction, with a prominent hill and trees located past the departure end. The airplane became airborne at the runway numbers, which were just before the displaced threshold, and the stall warning horn sounded immediately after liftoff. The pilot attempted to climb above the trees; however, the left wing struck a tree, and the airplane crashed into the woods about 0.37 miles past the departure end of the runway. The airplane impacted the ground inverted and caught fire. Examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of a pre-impact mechanical malfunction or failure. According to the aircraft manufacturer, the expected takeoff roll for the airplane at the time of the accident was about 1,490 feet on a level runway, given a gross weight at takeoff of 2,714 pounds. Maximum gross weight for the airplane was 2,900 pounds.
The surviving passenger reported that the pilot did not utilize a checklist and did not complete any weight and balance calculations. The pilot should have aborted the takeoff when he realized he wasn’t going to liftoff in time to clear the trees.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot’s decision to take off on an uphill slope without utilizing the entire available runway, and his failure to abort the takeoff when he realized he wasn’t going to liftoff in time to clear the trees at the end of the runway.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/9/2012 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 2225 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Sterling |
| Event State | PENNSYLVANIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 18444 |
| Event Date Year | 2012 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 412024N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0752516W |
| Event Location Airport | Spring Hill Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 70N |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 1 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 1729 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 2253 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 210 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | MPO |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1915 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 13 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Night/Dark |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 9000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 7000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| 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) | 13 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 7 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 310 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 6 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.64 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 2 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 3 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 31109 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Eastern ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 14 2013 4:03PM |
| User who most recently changed record | johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N9154K |
| NTSB Number | ERA12FA327 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | MOONEY |
| Aircraft Model | M20J |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 24-3372 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2900 |
| 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 | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | -- |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Sheridan Air LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 15 Tennessee Ave |
| Aircraft Owner City | Long Beach |
| Aircraft Owner State | NY |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 11561-1319 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Patrick J. Sheridan |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | 15 Tennessee Ave |
| Operator City | Long Beach |
| Operator State | NY |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 11561-1319 |
| 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 | 70N |
| Departure City | Sterling |
| Departure State | PA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 2225 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | FRG |
| Destination City | Farmingdale |
| Destination State | NY |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 1 2013 4:52PM |
| User who most recently changed record | johb |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 23 |
| Runway Length | 2478 |
| Runway Width | 42 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |