The pilot reported to an FAA inspector that, after completing a preflight inspection of the Cessna 210M and an engine run up, he taxied the airplane for departure from the airport in Shirley, N.Y. As the plane rotated off the runway, he noted that the control yoke felt “heavy.”
Approximately 25 feet above the ground, he elected to abort the takeoff, and pitched the nose down.
The plane contacted the runway, bounced, and became airborne again. As it touched down a second time in a nose-down attitude, the propeller hit the runway and the nose landing gear collapsed.
The airplane skidded off the right side of the runway and came to rest inverted, resulting in substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer, right wing, and engine firewall.
A post-accident examination revealed that the elevator trim wheel was set to the nose-down position, which accounted for the “heavy” feeling of the flight controls the pilot experienced during the takeoff.
The NTSB determined the probable cause as the pilot’s loss of control during an aborted takeoff as a result of his failure to properly configure the elevator trim prior to flight.
NTSB Identification: ERA13CA338
This July 2013 accident report is are 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 KNOW that I forget all kinds of stuff on a daily basis and there is really no good reason to believe that I don’t also forget stuff when I am in my airplane. That is why I ALWAYS use a checklist.
I am obviously missing something, but apparently lots of pilots kick the tires, light the fire, and off they go – apparently just hoping for the best. I don’t get it!
And guess what…..we get to pay for his ineptness through higher insurance premiums. That’s why it is important for us to screen out less than proficient pilots.
And….where is the instructor in all this? Will the FAA review instructional records to see if this was covered?
Panic set in and compounded a situation involving what was an otherwise flyable airplane with merely an excessive nose down trim setting. In point of fact the airplane was flying with an engine that was presumably developing normal takeoff power. It was the pilot who wasn’t flying who trusted feel so much he dumped the airplane in an attempted airborne abort and screwed that up so bad it nearly resulted in a total disaster. What is longitudinal trim for but to relieve the control force? Duh! Should have at least given that a try first.
This pilot had 3 opportunities to check the elevator trim setting.
1. during the preflight walk-around, when checking the trim tab connection, did he note the tab position. Is it in trail with the elevator ?
2. in the cockpit , before engine start, he checked all the control and switch settings using a ‘flow check ‘, using his right hand to sweep all of the controls and actually touch them and check for correctness.?
3. after he run-up, did he do the ‘ light,camera, action’ check ?
Sadly, he probably did none of these preflight checks….
Ouch another accident that could have been prevented by just using the checklist.