Falls Village, CT, USA
N89603
CESSNA 120
The pilot stated that he was repositioning the tail-wheeled airplane from a 720-foot grass strip to an airport for maintenance. He computed a takeoff distance of 450 feet and completed two practice takeoff runs to verify that the airplane was able to take off from the short runway. During the practice runs, with the airplane about 400 feet down the runway at an airspeed of 50 knots, the tail would rise normally and the pilot would abort the takeoff. During the accident takeoff roll, about 400 feet down the strip, the airplane encountered a dip in the terrain and briefly became airborne. The airplane settled back onto the runway and the pilot continued the takeoff, rotating airborne about 100 feet prior to a cornfield off the departure end of the runway. The pilot attempted to gain altitude, but the airplane struck corn stalks and descended into terrain. During the accident sequence that airplane incurred substantial damage to the fuselage, wings, and engine firewall. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
According to the pilot, he was repositioning the tail-wheeled airplane from a 720-foot grass strip to an airport for maintenance. He computed a takeoff distance of 450 feet and completed two practice takeoff runs to verify that the airplane was able to take off from the short runway. During the practice runs, about 400 feet down the runway, when the airspeed indicated 50 knots, the tail "came up normal" and the pilot aborted the takeoff. About 400 feet into the accident takeoff roll, the airplane encountered a "dip," briefly became airborne, then settled back onto the runway. The pilot continued the takeoff, and rotated the airplane 100 feet prior to a cornfield off the departure end of the runway. The pilot attempted to gain altitude, but the airplane struck corn stalks and descended into terrain, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage, wings, and engine firewall. The pilot reported there were no mechanical anomalies with the airplane. The winds reported at an airport 30 miles to the north of the accident location were calm.
The pilot’s failure to abort the takeoff, which resulted in an in-flight collision with terrain.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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