FTW97LA279

Factual narrative

On July 22, 1997, approximately 0200 central daylight time, a Cessna 180 airplane, N9320C, was substantially damaged following a loss of control during takeoff roll on runway 27 at the Carlisle Municipal Airport in Carlisle, Arkansas. The non-certificated pilot and his four passengers were not injured. The airplane was owned by a private individual, and its use by the pilot was not authorized. No flight plan was filed for the Title 14 CFR Part 91 personal local flight and night visual meteorological conditions prevailed. During a telephone interview conducted by the NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC), the owner of the fixed base operation (FBO) where the airplane was hangared reported that when he arrived at the airport about 0530, he discovered that someone had broken into his hangar. Two of his airplanes had been pulled out of the hangar and left on the ramp, and the accident airplane was missing. He found the missing airplane abandoned in the grass approximately 40 feet north of the edge of runway 9/27. A FAA inspector examined the tailwheel-equipped airplane and reported that it came to rest upright on a northerly heading. The left wing tip, the left horizontal stabilizer, and the left elevator sustained structural damage. The left wheel and the left door separated from the airplane. Skid marks were visible on the runway leading from east to west and veering toward the north edge of the runway, and ground scars corresponding to the left wing tip and the left horizontal stabilizer were found in the grass to the north of the runway. During a telephone interview conducted by the NTSB IIC, the Chief of the Carlisle Police Department reported that his investigation determined that the airplane owner's 18-year-old son along with four of his friends had taken the airplane from the hangar and "crashed it on takeoff." A follow-up telephone interview (conducted by the NTSB IIC) with the FBO owner, who was a flight instructor, revealed that he had given the pilot approximately 6 hours of dual instruction in the airplane. He had not endorsed the pilot's logbook for solo flight in the airplane. Skid marks and ground scars indicated that the non-certificated pilot, who was not authorized to use the airplane, lost control during the night takeoff roll. The airplane swerved to the right and went off the runway into the grass, and the left wingtip and horizontal stabilizer dragged on the ground. The airplane was found abandoned beside the runway when airport personnel arrived for work at 0530. An investigation conducted by local law enforcement personnel revealed that the pilot was the airplane owner's 18-year-old son, who had received approximately 6 hours of dual instruction in the airplane, but had not been endorsed for solo flight. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12