Cessna 182 N9432X

Summary

On 7 August 2009 at about 20:30 local time, a Cessna 182 registered N9432X, operated by Tab Air Inc., was involved in an accident near Milford, Pennsylvania, United States. 4 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

7 August 2009 at 20:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Milford, Pennsylvania, United States

Nearest airport

Myer Airport (6PA0)

Coordinates

41.3506, -74.9264

Aircraft

Cessna 182

Registration

N9432X

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Tab Air Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Milford → Olean

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA09CA449

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain control during takeoff.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was taking off from a 2,500-foot long by 50-foot wide turf runway, oriented on a northerly heading, when the airplane "became airborne early due to a dip in the runway." According to the pilot, he experienced a "slight left crosswind" and "engine torque," and the airplane began drifting to the left. The left wingtip impacted a tree, and the airplane came to rest in trees on the left side of the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing. Neither the pilot nor a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, who examined the airplane after the accident, reported any pre-impact mechanical malfunctions or anomalies. Details regarding the pilot's experience operating on turf runways, and particularly the accident airport, could not be obtained despite numerous attempts. In the NTSB Pilot/Operator Accident Report Form, the pilot reported the accident airport's runway width as 50 feet. This was confirmed by analysis of aerial photographs of the airport, which also depicted the distance between trees on either side of the runway as varying between 77 feet and 56 feet. However, records maintained by the FAA listed the runway as 200 feet wide. The nearest weather reporting station, located approximately 16 nautical miles southeast of the accident location, reported winds from 280 degrees at 7 knots around the time of the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.