Pilot Debrief

RYAN NAVION near Broomfield, CO — 2013-03-15

Final reportCEN13LA199
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Date
2013-03-15
Location
Broomfield, CO, USA
Airport
BJC
Aircraft
RYAN NAVION
Registration
N4276K
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Initial climb

Probable cause

The pilot's inadequate preflight planning and decision to take off at a high density altitude and in gusting wind conditions.

NTSB narrative

After takeoff from a 9,000-foot runway, the pilot retracted the landing gear. Shortly thereafter, the airspeed dropped, followed by an excessive descent rate. The pilot lowered the landing gear and landed the airplane on the runway before it departed the runway and the nose gear collapsed. The pilot attributed the excessive descent rate to wind shear. The weather information obtained by the pilot before the flight indicated gusting, variable, and turbulent wind conditions at a high density altitude, so the pilot should have been aware that conditions were favorable for wind shear. Further, the pilot should have applied a wind/gust correction factor to the takeoff speed to maintain a safe airspeed margin and to maintain airplane climb performance. The airplane's climb performance was further degraded by the effects of density altitude and the overweight condition of the airplane due to the pilot's erroneous weight and balance calculations.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Human factors
First missed decision gate
Pilot failed to correctly calculate weight and balance before takeoff.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • 3 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents3

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