Endler Glasair/Glasair 1-Td SH2 N181AL

Summary

On 15 July 2017 at about 19:00 local time, a Endler Glasair/Glasair 1-Td SH2 registered N181AL was involved in an accident near Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

15 July 2017 at 19:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Meadow Lake Airport (FLY)

Coordinates

38.9458, -104.5700

Aircraft

Endler Glasair/Glasair 1-Td SH2

Registration

N181AL

Category

Airplane

Year built

1988

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Colorado Springs → Colorado Springs

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN17LA274

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to lock the castering tailwheel in accordance with the airplane Owner's Manual and a checklist item and to abort the takeoff after the airplane exceeded its normal takeoff distance and/or reached the limit of the rudder control authority during the takeoff roll, which resulted in a loss of directional control and a subsequent runway excursion and impact with a light.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airline transport pilot reported that he was attempting to take off in a nonsteerable, castering, tailwheel-equipped experimental airplane with the tailwheel unlocked. During the takeoff roll, the airplane veered left. The pilot applied right rudder pedal input and then applied the right brake, but the airplane continued to veer left. The airplane veered off the runway about 2,400 ft down the runway and struck a taxiway light; the airplane's normal takeoff distance is 1,000 ft. A postcrash fire erupted from the right main landing gear well area. The continued application of right brake after full rudder deflection, as evidenced by witness marks along the runway, did not correct the airplane's path; instead, it likely increased the takeoff distance and created a heat source for the initiation of the fire. Further, when applying full rudder deflection did not correct the airplane's path, the pilot should have recognized there was a problem and aborted the takeoff. According to the airplane Owner's Manual and a checklist item in the manual, the tailwheel was to be in the locked position for takeoff and landing. Given the evidence, the pilot likely had not locked the castering tailwheel in accordance with applicable guidance, which resulted in the loss of directional control during takeoff.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.