Pilot Debrief

BEECH C24 near Blanding, UT — 2010-10-10

Final reportWPR11LA013
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Date
2010-10-10
Location
Blanding, UT, USA
Airport
BDG
Aircraft
BEECH C24
Registration
N5063M
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Takeoff roll

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to attain a climb gradient sufficient to clear the rising terrain, which resulted in his decision to make a forced landing on a road.

NTSB narrative

Before departure, the pilot calculated the density altitude and the required takeoff distance. Due to density altitude considerations, he did not fill the fuel tanks to capacity. His calculations indicated that the required runway length was as at least 2,000 feet less than the available 5,781-foot-long runway. After the airplane lifted off, and the pilot observed a positive rate of climb, retracted the flaps to zero, and selected the landing gear to the retracted position. However, the landing gear did not retract. Due to rising terrain directly ahead, the pilot decided to make a forced landing to a road. On short final, the airplane drifted to the right and the left main landing gear struck a chain link fence. The airplane came to rest upright in a watermelon patch. Postaccident examination of the airplane did not reveal any mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. According to the airplane manufacturer, for the prevailing ambient conditions, the airplane was capable of climbing 227 feet per minute.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Human factors
First missed decision gate
Choosing runway 17 instead of runway 35 could have prevented the accident.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • 3 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents3

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