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BFO91LA083

1991-09-14 · BURNT CHIMNEY, Virginia, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 70VA

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

IMPROPER PLANNING/DECISION BY THE PILOT. THE UPHILL RUNWAY AND OBSTRUCTIONS (TREES) NEAR THE DEPARTURE END OF THE RUNWAY WERE RELATED FACTORS.

Factual narrative

THE PILOT ATTEMPTED A SHORT FIELD TAKEOFF FROM A 1800 FT UPHILL RUNWAY. FOLLOWING LIFT OFF, HE WAS UNABLE TO GAIN ALTITUDE AND COLLIDED WITH TREES IN HIS DEPARTURE PATH. IT WAS THE FIRST TIME HE EVER DEPARTED FROM A SHORT GRASS STRIP. THE AIRCRAFT WAS BEING OPERATED WITHIN WEIGHT AND BALANCE LIMITATIONS. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1991_BFO91LA083.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.