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Atlas / NTSB / WPR23LA032

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event WPR23LA032

2022-11-15 Salt Lake City, Utah, United States Airport · KSLC None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N789RJ

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

HONDA AIRCRAFT CO LLC HA-420

Year of manufacture

2019 · 3 years old at event

TCDS

A00018AT · HONDA AIRCRAFT COMPANY LLC

Engine

GE HONDA HF-120

Seats / Engines

8 seats · 2 engines

Last airworthiness date

20191012

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S AAB375

Registrant of record

ANDERSEN AIR LLC

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s inadvertent attempt to takeoff on a left side of runway, rather than the centerline of runway, which resulted in a collision with runway edge lights during the night time takeoff.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that, after receiving clearance for the night time takeoff, he set the heading bug to the flight heading while entering the runway. He mistook the left runway edge lights for the runway centerline and attempted a takeoff. During the takeoff roll, the left wing struck the runway edge lights and the pilot aborted the takeoff. The left wing sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

  • Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Identification/recognition-Pilot
  • Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Monitoring environment-Pilot
  • Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Light condition-Dark-Effect on operation
  • Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Runway/taxi/approach light-Effect on equipment

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2022_WPR23LA032.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.