NTSB WPR23LA032 — 2022-11-15 · Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

Current FAA registration · N789RJ

Make / Model: HONDA AIRCRAFT CO LLC HA-420
Year of manufacture: 2019 · 3 years old at event
Engine: GE HONDA HF-120
Seats / Engines: 8 seats · 2 engines
Last airworthiness date: 20191012
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S AAB375

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N789RJ HONDA AIRCRAFT CO LLC HA-420 None

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

FAA avdata. C = Cause, 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 ↗.

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