Skip to content

ERA10CA114

2010-01-14 · Collegedale, Tennessee, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport FGU

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during the initial climb after takeoff in dark light conditions.

Factual narrative

The airplane was departing from runway 3, a 4,700-foot-long, 75-foot-wide, asphalt runway, during night visual meteorological conditions. The pilot reported that he lost sight of outside visual references after takeoff, due to darkness, and he was not initially aware that the airplane was turning to the left. He added that he momentarily "did not pay attention" to the airplane's instruments, and when he realized that the airplane was turning, it was "too late." The airplane struck trees located off the left side of the runway, and impacted the ground. After the pilot exited, a post crash fire substantially consumed the airplane. The pilot did not report any preimpact mechanical malfunctions. The pilot's logbook was consumed by fire. He estimated that his total flight experience was 110 hours, which included 10 hours flight in "night" conditions. The airplane was departing from runway 3, a 4,700-foot-long, 75-foot-wide, asphalt runway, during night visual meteorological conditions. The pilot reported that he lost sight of outside visual references after takeoff due to darkness, and that he was not initially aware that the airplane was turning to the left. He added that he momentarily "did not pay attention" to the airplane's instruments, and that when he realized that the airplane was turning it was "too late." The airplane struck trees located off the left side of the runway, and impacted the ground. After the pilot exited a postcrash fire substantially consumed the airplane. The pilot did not report any preimpact mechanical malfunctions. The pilot's logbook was consumed by fire. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C
  • — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Light condition-Dark-Contributed to outcome
  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2010_ERA10CA114.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.