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ERA11CA440

2011-08-05 · Frostproof, Florida, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 52FL

N13LN has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (ARION AIRCRAFT LLC LIGHTNING, built 2012), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's premature rotation during takeoff.

Factual narrative

The pilot of the experimental amateur-built Nelsen Lightning was departing from a turf runway. He reported that as he passed his normal rotation point on the runway, he rotated the airplane without verifying his airspeed, which resulted in the airplane becoming airborne prematurely. The airplane rotated, rolled to the left, impacted a light pole, and came to rest inverted, which resulted in substantial damage to both wings and the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions of the airplane prior to the accident. The pilot of the experimental, amateur-built airplane was departing from a turf runway. He reported that as he passed his normal rotation point on the runway, he rotated the airplane without verifying his airspeed, which resulted in the airplane becoming airborne prematurely. The airplane rotated, rolled to the left, impacted a light pole, and came to rest inverted. Substantial damage was sustained to both wings and the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions of the airplane prior to the accident. 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-Airspeed-Not attained/maintained - C
  • C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Incorrect action sequence-Pilot - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2011_ERA11CA440.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

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