Luscombe 8 N77863

Summary

On 25 June 2022 at about 14:20 local time, a Luscombe 8 registered N77863 was involved in an accident near New Market, Virginia, United States. One person was 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

25 June 2022 at 14:20

Classification

Accident

Location

New Market, Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Franwood Farms Inc Airport (9VA4)

Coordinates

38.6910, -78.6295

Aircraft

Luscombe 8

Registration

N77863

Category

Airplane

Year built

1946

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA22LA292

Nobody was injured.

Impact with a fence during an attempted takeoff from a short, uphill turf airstrip.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of the vintage tailwheel airplane was attempting a takeoff from an uphill 1,550-ft-long turf airstrip, with a 3-knot left-quartering headwind and in an 80° F ambient temperature. The airplane lifted off at the end of the airstrip; however, the right main landing gear and right horizontal stabilizer impacted the top of a 4.5-ft high fence. The airplane then settled into a field on the other side of the fence and during the landing roll, the right main gear impacted a groundhog hole and collapsed. Initial examination of the wreckage revealed substantial damage to the right horizontal stabilizer. The pilot reported that the engine sputtered for about 3 seconds before collision with the fence and additional examination of the engine was planned following recovery of the wreckage from the field; however, the pilot did not respond to subsequent requests regarding the disposition of the engine for examination. He also was unable to produce maintenance and pilot logbooks for examination. Whether an engine anomaly may have contributed to the accident could not be determined. Review of the airplane’s owner’s handbook revealed a published takeoff distance of 625 ft on a hard turf surface. More recent publications listed a takeoff ground roll of 1,050 ft; however, none of the data accounted for performance considerations such as an upsloping turf runway, high ambient temperatures, or distance to clear obstacles.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.