21 Jun 2008: Maule MX-7-180A

21 Jun 2008: Maule MX-7-180A — Unknown operator

No fatalities • Angwin, CA, United States

Probable cause

The pilot's inadequate compensation for the crosswind condition and failure to maintain directional control.

— NTSB Determination

Accident narrative

The pilot reported that he was taking off on runway 34 in a tailwheel equipped airplane. He lifted the tail during the roll, and shortly thereafter, the airplane turned sharply to the left. The pilot applied right rudder and left aileron control deflection, then applied right brake and reduced the throttle to idle. The airplane departed the left side of the runway and struck a midfield windsock pole, damaging the left gear. The left wing contacted the ground and the airplane slid into a cattle fence, causing substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or engine. He added that the winds were from 290 degrees at 7 miles per hour. In the section titled RECOMMENDATION (How could this accident have been prevented) of the pilot's written report (NTSB Pilot/Operator Report, Form 6120.1), the pilot stated that he could have kept the tail on the ground longer for better directional control. He also thought that he could have departed from runway 16 with a slight tailwind, but with a right crosswind to counteract left turning tendencies.

Contributing factors

  • Crosswind
  • cause Crosswind correction — Not attained/maintained
  • cause Directional control — Not attained/maintained
  • Fence/fence post
  • Pole

Conditions

Weather
VMC, vis 10sm

Loading the flight search…

What you can do on Flight Finder

  • Search flights between any two airports with live fares.
  • By aircraft — pick a plane model (e.g. Boeing 787, Airbus A350) and see every route it flies from your origin.
  • Route map — click any airport worldwide to explore its destinations, or draw a radius to find nearby airports.
  • Global aviation safety — aviation accident database, 5,200+ records since 1980, with map and rankings by aircraft and operator.
  • NTSB safety feed — recent U.S. aviation accidents and incidents from the official NTSB CAROL database, updated daily.

Frequently asked questions

How do I search flights by aircraft type on FlightFinder?

Pick an aircraft model — Boeing 737, Airbus A320, A380, Boeing 787 Dreamliner and more — enter your origin airport, and FlightFinder shows every route that plane flies from there with live fares.

Which aircraft types can I filter by?

We support Boeing 737/747/757/767/777/787, the full Airbus A220/A319/A320/A321/A330/A340/A350/A380 family, Embraer E170/E175/E190/E195, Bombardier CRJ and Dash 8, and the ATR 42/72 turboprops.

Is FlightFinder free to use?

Search and schedules are free. Pro ($4.99/month, $39/year, or $99 one-time lifetime) unlocks the enriched flight card — on-time stats, CO₂ per passenger, amenities, live gate & weather — plus My Trips with push alerts.

Where does the route data come from?

Live schedules come from Amadeus, AeroDataBox and Travelpayouts. Observed routes (which aircraft actually flew a given city pair) are crowdsourced from adsb.lol ADS-B data under the Open Database License.