The pilot of the Cessna 180 attempted to takeoff from the grass area between the taxiway and runway at Nervino, Calif. The plane was equipped with large bush wheels.
During the takeoff roll, a rock was thrown up by the wheels and it struck the left horizontal stabilizer, which resulted in substantial damage. The pilot aborted the takeoff.
The NTSB determined the probable cause of the accident as the pilot’s decision to takeoff from an area off the runway surface, which resulted in a collision with an object.
NTSB Identification: WPR13CA278
This June 2015 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
I can tell you from my own experience with the local airport that every time they mow with the 15 foot batwing bush hog all manner of rocks and everything else imaginable, including the occasional taxiway light, are strewn all over the place so there would have to be a daily FOB walk in the grass if all rocks and debris were to be eliminated. But I have to agree with Lee. Why would the NTSB even be involved in this situation? Does this mean the next time my bug smasher hits an insect at 3,000 feet there will be an NTSB investigation?
This is a couple years old now! Crazy how it’s just now coming up.
We land and depart on this section of grass almost daily at Nervino. There was some construction going on at the time and it was actually a chunk of pie shaped concrete.
Once upon a time airports did not have runways. Once upon a time airports were just one big field .. since pilots were (rightfully) taught to always ‘land into the wind’ … which made sense for low stall/landing speed airplanes. And still is today. Imagine landing an Avid Flyer in a 20 K crosswind. But along came higher stalling speed airplanes and someone decided … hey .. we can now build paved runways and get them out of the mud … what with the cross-wind component being a smaller percentage of the actual stall speed. This was the natural evolvement of airports (didn’t Lindbergh land on one big plot of acreage in Paris – into the wind?) Problem is that today it is hard to find any grass runways for pilots to even experience. And so we (sometimes … generally with the Airport Manager’s blessing), use the grass beside the runway. I can accurately say that just 25/30 years ago there were quite a few grass runways at airports in Illinois. Now, there are very few. I have my opinionated reasons why, but won’t go there. (What were rocks doing between the runway and the taxiway? Perhaps a consultation with someone familiar with the airport – like the airport manager – would have been in order prior to take off). This from a retired airport inspector.
Affirmative. He will be CRUSHED!
THAT was an accident needing investigation by the NTSB? I don’t understand. No injuries, no crash, just some damage to the airframe that is repairable by an A&P. What was there to investigate? Did they take the rock into custody?