On 17 May 2009, an AIRBORNE XT912 operated by Ludwik Marchwicki was involved in an aviation accident near Newark, IL. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's inadequate preflight preparation, which led to the inability to accelerate to takeoff speed after encountering wet and soft runway conditions. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 2 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.
An aircraft taking off from a grass runway encountered a wet and soft area, lost speed, and struck its left wing tip on the ground, resulting in substantial unrepaired damage.
Accident Details
During a takeoff attempt from a grass runway, the aircraft's landing gear rolled into a wet and soft section of the runway surface. The presence of saturated and yielding ground caused the aircraft to decelerate rapidly. According to the pilot, the airplane "slowed down very fast" and was unable to become airborne.
As the aircraft lost forward momentum, the left wing tip made contact with the terrain. The impact inflicted substantial damage to the wing, which was later assessed as "not repairable." The pilot reported no mechanical issues with the aircraft prior to or during the event. No other components or systems were noted as damaged.
The investigation did not identify any pre-existing mechanical failures. The encounter with the wet and soft runway area was the sole operational circumstance described. No further contributory factors or causal determinations were provided in the available information.
Contributing factors
Causes
PilotPerformance/control parameters — Not attained/maintained