Cessna 150 N7793E

Summary

On 17 May 2004 at about 22:10 local time, a Cessna 150 registered N7793E was involved in an accident near Old Town, Maine, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

17 May 2004 at 22:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Old Town, Maine, United States

Nearest airport

Old Town Municipal Airport (OLD)

Coordinates

44.9000, -68.7500

Aircraft

Cessna 150

Registration

N7793E

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Old Town → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

IAD04LA023

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to abort the takeoff. Factors were the pilot's incorrect assessment of the airplane's weight and the muddy terrain.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that during the takeoff roll, when the airplane reached about 1/3 the runway's length (about 1,060 feet), he thought it should have been airborne. At 2/3 the runway's length (about 2,120 feet), the pilot knew he had a problem, but "rotated" the airplane at 40 knots and became airborne. After rotation, he felt that the engine was not developing full power, and was "sluggish and lacking horsepower." The pilot briefly employed carburetor heat, then attempted to adjust the engine's mixture control; however, neither adjustment improved the airplane's performance. After bouncing once in a field, the pilot was able to land the airplane on an interstate median, where it nosed over in muddy terrain. There was no evidence of mechanical malfunction. Computation of weight and balance information provided by the pilot revealed that the airplane was 184 pounds over maximum gross weight at takeoff. Performance data revealed that an airplane at maximum gross weight should have been airborne in less than 600 feet of runway distance.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.