Boulder Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Boulder, Colorado 80301
Saturday, October 19, 2013 10:45 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that during the takeoff roll, shortly before liftoff, the airplane began to swerve to the left. He was unable to regain directional control, and the airplane departed the left side of the runway. A postaccident examination of the runway revealed a wavy, double-line marking consistent with the width of a main landing gear tire. The marking began about 1,400 feet down the runway and continued another 400 feet until it departed the left runway edge. The pilot attributed his loss of directional control to a sudden deflation of the left main landing gear tire. The postaccident examination confirmed that the left main tire was deflated and loose in its wheel assembly. The examination did not reveal any additional anomalies with the airplane that would have prevented normal operation. The left swerve encountered during the takeoff roll was likely due to a sudden loss of pressure in the left main landing gear tire, which resulted in increased surface drag.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The sudden loss of tire pressure during takeoff roll, which resulted in a loss of directional control.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/19/2013
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1045
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Boulder
Event State COLORADO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 80301
Event Date Year 2013
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 400222N
Event Location Longitude 1051333W
Event Location Airport Boulder Municipal Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID BDU
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 5288
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1052 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 21
Weather Observation Facility ID LMO
Elevation of weather observation facility 5055
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 8
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
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) 14
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 0
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 40
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.04
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KLMO 191652Z AUTO 04003KT 10SM CLR 14/00 A30
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) 32168
NTSB Notification Source NTSB Duty Officer, Aaron Sauer
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 5 2013 6:54PM
User who most recently changed record foxt
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N282RD
NTSB Number CEN14LA011
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 DAVENPORT
Aircraft Model LONG EZ
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 282
Certified Max Gross Weight 1750
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 Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Jul 27 2013 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 762
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type C91
Aircraft Owner Name UltraPure Air, LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Setauket
Aircraft Owner State NY
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 11733-3108
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name UltraPure Air, LLC
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Setauket
Operator State NY
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 11733-3108
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 BDU
Departure City Boulder
Departure State CO
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1045
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code BDU
Destination City Boulder
Destination State CO
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 5 2013 4:56PM
User who most recently changed record foxt
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 08
Runway Length 4100
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --