Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Goose Creek Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Indian Trail, North Carolina 28079
Sunday, May 11, 2014 14:30 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot stated that he intended to perform a short field takeoff due to trees at the end of the 2,350-foot-long runway. A pretakeoff engine run up revealed no anomalies, and the pilot initiated the takeoff with the wing flaps extended 10 degrees. "Immediately" after takeoff, the pilot raised the flaps, and felt as though the airplane's nose was "pushed down." The airplane contacted trees at the end of the runway and subsequently impacted the ground, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage, both wings, and the engine firewall. Postaccident examination of the airplane and engine by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. According to the airplane owner's handbook, when operating from short runways, "[takeoff] distances can be reduced appreciably by lowering flaps to 25 degrees." The Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3A further stated, "On short-field takeoffs, the landing gear and flaps should remain in takeoff position until clear of obstacles and [best rate of climb] has been established. It is usually advisable to raise the flaps in increments to avoid sudden loss of lift."
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's improper flap retraction during a short field takeoff, which resulted in the aircraft experiencing an aerodynamic stall and impact with trees.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/11/2014 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1430 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Indian Trail |
| Event State | NORTH CAROLINA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 28079 |
| Event Date Year | 2014 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 350716N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0803514W |
| Event Location Airport | Goose Creek Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 28A |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 360 |
| Airport Elevation | 565 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1453 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 20 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | EQY |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 682 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 6 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 4800 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| 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) | 29 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 16 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 30 |
| 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) | 30.13 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR KEQY 111853Z AUTO 03006KT 10SM SCT048 29/16 |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | 3 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 33255 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Southern 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 1 2014 4:07PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N15230 |
| NTSB Number | ERA14CA233 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | PIPER |
| Aircraft Model | PA 28-180 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 28-7305039 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2450 |
| 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 | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Apr 29 2014 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 5 |
| Airframe Hours | 4340 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Wild Wingdom LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Greenville |
| Aircraft Owner State | SC |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 29609 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Wild Wingdom LLC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Greenville |
| Operator State | SC |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 29609 |
| 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 | 28A |
| Departure City | Indian Trail |
| Departure State | NC |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1430 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | 28A |
| Destination City | Indian Trail |
| Destination State | NC |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 1 2014 4:07PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 04 |
| Runway Length | 2300 |
| Runway Width | 35 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |