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BFO87LA036

1987-05-12 · CHESTERTOWN, Maryland, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

N18880 has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (AERONCA LC), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

THE PILOT, UNFAMILIAR WITH THE AIRPORT, INTENDED TO PERFORM A TRIAL TAKEOFF RUN TO DETERMINE HOW THE AIRCRAFT ACCELERATED ON THE GRASS RUNWAY. DURING THE TRIAL RUN WHEN THE AIRCRAFT WAS ABOUT HALF WAY DOWN THE RUNWAY, THE PILOT FELT THE AIRCRAFT WAS READY TO FLY AND DECIDED TO PROCEED WITH THE TAKEOFF. LIFT-OFF AT STALL SPEED OCCURRED ABOUT 3/4 DOWN THE RUNWAY. THE AIRCRAFT WOULD NOT CLIMB OR ACCELERATE OUT OF GROUND EFFECT AND STRUCK A TREE PAST THE RUNWAY END. THE AIRCRAFT WAS AT FULL POWER, THE LANDING GEAR DOWN AND FLAPS DOWN 15 DEGREES WHEN THE COLLISION OCCURRED. THE PILOT REALIZED, AFTER THE ACCIDENT, THAT HE ATTEMPTED THE TAKEOFF DOWNWIND. THE PILOT STATED HE ATTEMPTED THE TAKEOFF WITH A SENSE OF URGENCY BECAUSE OF AN APPROACHING THUNDERSTORM. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1987_BFO87LA036.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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