5 Sep 2012: COSTRUZIONI AERONAUTICHE TECNA P92 TAIL DRAGGER

5 Sep 2012: COSTRUZIONI AERONAUTICHE TECNA P92 TAIL DRAGGER — Unknown operator

No fatalities • Elizabethtown, KY, United States

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control of the tailwheel-equipped airplane during a takeoff in gusty crosswind conditions. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's decision to take off in gusty wind conditions associated with approaching thunderstorms.

— NTSB Determination

Accident narrative

The pilot initiated the takeoff roll in the tailwheel equipped airplane, raised the tail to a level attitude, and the airplane yawed to the right. The airplane’s nose pitched up and the airplane began to roll left, at which point the pilot attempted to regain directional control; however, the airplane departed the left side of the runway into a bean field. The pilot reduced engine power to idle and utilized the wheel brakes; however, the airplane subsequently nosed over and came to rest inverted which resulted in substantial damage to the outboard section of the right wing and the vertical stabilizer. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Weather radar data revealed that about the time of the accident a line of thunderstorms, associated with a front, were approaching the airport from the west and were observed over the airport about 8 minutes after the accident. According to a Federal Aviation Administration inspector, the recorded winds at the time of the accident were 320 degrees at 23 knots with peak winds of 27 knots.

Contributing factors

  • cause Performance/control parameters — Not attained/maintained
  • cause Effect on operation
  • cause Pilot
  • factor Pilot
  • factor Contributed to outcome

Conditions

Weather
VMC, wind 310/08kt, vis 1sm

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.