Monroe County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Bloomington, Indiana 47403
Sunday, April 14, 2013 16:45 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot lost directional control during the takeoff roll, and the airplane veered off the runway and impacted terrain. A postaccident examination of the flight control system revealed that the right rudder control cable had slipped out of a connector and detached from the bellcrank due to the improper crimping of the connector collar.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The improper installation of a rudder control cable connector and its subsequent separation from the bellcrank, which resulted in the loss of directional control during takeoff.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/14/2013
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1645
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Bloomington
Event State INDIANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 47403
Event Date Year 2013
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 390846N
Event Location Longitude 0863700W
Event Location Airport Monroe County Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID BMG
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 845
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1653 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID BMG
Elevation of weather observation facility 846
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
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 None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 23
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 4
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 150
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 12
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 17
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.81
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) 31923
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jul 31 2013 4:49PM
User who most recently changed record bowl
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N95RL
NTSB Number CEN13LA231
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 Needham
Aircraft Model Stoddard-Hamilton TD
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 609
Certified Max Gross Weight 1900
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
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 Oct 25 2012 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 1064
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Individual
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Lafayette
Aircraft Owner State IN
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode --
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Pilot
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Lafayette
Operator State IN
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 BMG
Departure City Bloomington
Departure State IN
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1645
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code 1I9
Destination City Delphi
Destination State IN
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jul 22 2013 10:26AM
User who most recently changed record galm
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 17
Runway Length 6500
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --