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GAA15CA262

2015-08-19 · The Dalles, Oregon, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport DLS

Current FAA registration · N1010F

Make / Model
AERO COMMANDER 500-B
Seats / Engines
7 seats · 2 engines
Last airworthiness date
19780830
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A00AC9

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

A motor vehicle's runway incursion causing the premature rotation of the departing airplane, which resulted in a tail strike.

Factual narrative

According to the pilot, during the takeoff roll, a vehicle entered the runway and he immediately pulled back on the yoke in order to climb and avoid the vehicle. The pilot reported that as the airplane began to rotate, he simultaneously retracted the landing gear, and he felt a "bump" before the airplane lifted off of the runway. The airplane ascended over the incursion vehicle and the pilot avoided a collision. The pilot reported that during the post-flight inspection he checked the landing gear to inspect for damage and he did not find any deficiencies. However, during a subsequent preflight inspection by another crew, it was noticed that the lower aft fuselage was damaged. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the bottom aft fuselage longerons and stringers. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or anomalies prior to or during the flight that would have prevented normal operation. According to the pilot, during the takeoff roll, a vehicle entered the runway and he immediately pulled back on the yoke in order to climb and avoid the vehicle.  The pilot reported that as the airplane began to rotate, he simultaneously retracted the landing gear, and he felt a "bump" before the airplane lifted off of the runway. The airplane ascended over the incursion vehicle and the pilot avoided a collision. The pilot reported that during the post-flight inspection he checked the landing gear to inspect for damage and he did not find any deficiencies. However, during a subsequent preflight inspection by another crew, it was noticed that the lower aft fuselage was damaged.  The airplane sustained substantial damage to the bottom aft fuselage longerons and stringers. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or anomalies prior to or during the flight that would have prevented normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Ground vehicle-Effect on operation - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2015_GAA15CA262.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (runway incursion). All research papers