Hampton Airfield Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

North Hampton, New Hampshire 03862
Monday, September 1, 2014 10:50 EDT

On September 1, 2014, about 1050 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 180, N6510A, was substantially damaged when it impacted trees and terrain after a loss of control during initial climb at Hampton Airfield (7B3), North Hampton, New Hampshire. The airline transport rated pilot and passenger were fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91, destined for a private airport in Kingston, New Hampshire. According to witness statements and video images, the takeoff occurred on runway 02 which was a 2,100 foot long by 170 foot wide turf covered runway. Comparison of the video footage to known landmarks on the airport indicated that after a ground run of approximately 890 feet the airplane lifted off, and the airplane angle of attack began to increase. Approximately 320 feet later its angle of attack was still increasing though its altitude was higher than a group of trees that were approximately 75 feet high located adjacent to the west side of the runway. Moments later the airplane rolled and yawed to the left, the angle of attack decreased through a level flight attitude, to a steep nose down attitude, and the airplane went out of view behind some trees. The sound of impact was then heard. Examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane struck trees in a nose low, left wing down attitude, and then impacted the ground in a 42 degree nose low attitude, on an approximate magnetic heading of 220 degrees, before coming to rest. The smell of fuel was present, and multiple branches and broken tree limbs displayed evidence of propeller strike marks. Examination of the airplane and engine revealed no evidence of any preimpact failure or malfunction of the airplane or engine. The fuselage was broken and bent in several places. The wings displayed crush and compression damage, were detached from their mounting locations, and approximately two feet of the outboard left wing was separated. Flight control continuity was established from the flight controls to the cockpit, and the throttle control, mixture control, propeller control, and carburetor heat, were full in. The flap handle was in the 10-degree detent. The pilot seats' tracks showed evidence of pullout and cracking which was indicative of the pilot seats being in the locked position during the impact. The propeller displayed evidence of S-bending and chordwise scratching. Drivetrain continuity was established from the front of the engine to the accessory pad on the back of the engine, and oil was present in the galleries and rocker boxes. Both magnetos produced spark and the upper spark plug electrodes appeared normal and light gray in color. Thumb compression was established on all cylinders, and fuel was present in the carburetor float bowl. According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records, the pilot held an airline transport pilot certificate with a rating for airplane multi engine land, with commercial privileges for airplane single-engine land, airplane single-engine sea, and type ratings for the B-707, B-720, and B-727. His most recent FAA third-class medical certificate was issued on April 11, 2013. According to FAA and airplane maintenance records, the accident airplane was manufactured in 1956. The airplane's most recent annual inspection was completed on June 6, 2014. At the time of the inspection, the airplane had accrued approximately 3,225 total hours of operation.

Not Yet Reported