Corcoran Airport, Corcoran, CA
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Corcoran Airport Today:
Airport
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Airport
Area Accident History:
Accident occurred Thursday, September 21, 2000
in CORCORAN, CA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 7/15/2002
Aircraft: Schweizer G-164B, registration: N3626T
Injuries: 1 Uninjured.
The airplane veered into a cotton field during
takeoff from a dirt canal bank. During refueling, Jet A fuel was spilled on the
windshield. The pilot cleaned the windshield and attempted a takeoff. Residual
fuel started collecting on the windshield and he aborted the takeoff. He cleaned
the windshield more thoroughly and attempted a second takeoff. As the airplane
reached flying speed, fluid once again collected on the windshield and obscured
his vision. He was departing to the east into the rising sun and lost his
forward visual reference. He said there was not sufficient runway remaining to
reject the takeoff, therefore he continued. The airplane gained less than 5 feet
of altitude and drifted about 20 degrees left. The airplane collided with cotton
plants about 2 feet tall, and continued about 300 feet through the field before
coming to rest. The right main gear and spray boom separated, and the upper wing
partially separated. The National Transportation Safety Board determines the
probable cause(s) of this accident as follows: The pilot's inadequate preflight
inspection and his failure to maintain directional control during takeoff.
Factors were the pilot's failure to ensure that the fuel tank cover was replaced
properly, fuel contamination of the windscreen, and the sun angle that obscured
the pilot's vision.
Corcoran
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