Summary
On March 12, 2018, a Cessna 140 (N2011N) was involved in an incident near Madison, SD. 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: The flight instructor’s delayed aborted takeoff on a soft, wet, grass runway, which resulted in a runway overrun.
The flight instructor, acting as a safety pilot, in the tailwheel-equipped airplane reported that, to expedite takeoff, he decided to takeoff from the grass runway instead of the concrete runway. He added that, about midway into the soft-field takeoff roll, he observed that the airplane was "struggling to build airspeed". He added that the runway had previously thawed and was "wet spongy sod". He reduced power and began to apply the brakes to abort the takeoff, but the airplane overran the runway, impacted a snow bank, and nosed over.
The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage.
The flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
This incident is documented in NTSB report GAA18CA166. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N2011N.
Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
The flight instructor’s delayed aborted takeoff on a soft, wet, grass runway, which resulted in a runway overrun.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Current)
Analysis
The flight instructor, acting as a safety pilot, in the tailwheel-equipped airplane reported that, to expedite takeoff, he decided to takeoff from the grass runway instead of the concrete runway. He added that, about midway into the soft-field takeoff roll, he observed that the airplane was "struggling to build airspeed". He added that the runway had previously thawed and was "wet spongy sod". He reduced power and began to apply the brakes to abort the takeoff, but the airplane overran the runway, impacted a snow bank, and nosed over.
The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage.
The flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# GAA18CA166