Summary
On November 02, 2008, a Piper PA18-150 (N18338) was involved in an incident near Colorado Springs, CO. All 2 people aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: Loss of directional control due to an encounter with a weather phenomena at rotation.
According to the pilot, he was attempting to depart from an unimproved private airstrip. As the airplane rotated for lift-off at 35 to 40 miles per hour, it was "hit by a dust devil." The airplane rotated ninety degrees to the right and the application of full opposite control inputs failed to re-establish directional control. The airplane impacted terrain causing the left landing gear to collapse, followed by the collapse of the right landing gear, which resulted in multiple propeller ground strikes. The airplane sustained a bent right wing spar. The pilot reported the weather conditions at the time of the accident as a variable seven to ten knot wind, gusting to 12 to 15 knots.
This incident is documented in NTSB report CEN09CA079. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N18338.
Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
Loss of directional control due to an encounter with a weather phenomena at rotation.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Current)
Analysis
According to the pilot, he was attempting to depart from an unimproved private airstrip. As the airplane rotated for lift-off at 35 to 40 miles per hour, it was "hit by a dust devil." The airplane rotated ninety degrees to the right and the application of full opposite control inputs failed to re-establish directional control. The airplane impacted terrain causing the left landing gear to collapse, followed by the collapse of the right landing gear, which resulted in multiple propeller ground strikes. The airplane sustained a bent right wing spar. The pilot reported the weather conditions at the time of the accident as a variable seven to ten knot wind, gusting to 12 to 15 knots. An hourly weather observation taken at the time of the accident 39 miles west of the accident site showed the wind to be 170 at four knots.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# CEN09CA079