At 07:51 EDT, a Cessna 401B crashed after an aborted takeoff at Essex County Airport. Three passengers were seriously injured; the pilot and four passengers also received minor injuries. The pilot said the initial takeoff roll was uneventful, and that he planned rotation at 105 mph indicated. However, the airplane accelerated to about 80 mph and then did not appear to accelerate further. About two-thirds of the way down the runway, he decided to abort the takeoff. The airplane skidded off the right side of the runway near the departure end, continued over a berm, and dropped into a ravine. When the airplane was lifted out of the ravine, the pitot covers were found still on the pitot tubes and the red, REMOVE BEFORE FLIGHT streamers were found wrapped and knotted around the pitot tube masts. In addition, the cockpit flap control lever and the mechanical following indicator were in the flaps up position – as required by the POH – but the flaps were down. The aircraft was under max gross weight and the pilot aborted the takeoff nearly 1,100 feet past where the airplane should have taken off.
Oct. 2, Caldwell, N.J. / Cessna 401B
At 07:51 EDT, a Cessna 401B crashed after an aborted takeoff at Essex County Airport. Three passengers were seriously injured; the pilot and four passengers also received minor injuries. The pilot said the initial takeoff roll was uneventful, and that he planned rotation at 105 mph indicated. However, the airplane accelerated to about 80 mph and then did not appear to accelerate further. About two-thirds of the way down the runway, he decided to abort the takeoff. The airplane skidded off the right side of the runway near the departure end, continued over a berm, and dropped into a ravine. When the airplane was lifted out of the ravine, the pitot covers were found still on the pitot tubes an...
Key Takeaways:
- A Cessna 401B crashed after an aborted takeoff at Essex County Airport, resulting in serious injuries to three passengers and minor injuries to the pilot and four others.
- Post-crash investigation revealed the pitot tube covers were still on, likely preventing accurate airspeed indication and contributing to the aircraft's reported failure to accelerate.
- Additionally, the cockpit flap control indicated "flaps up," but the flaps were actually in the "down" position.
- The pilot aborted the takeoff late, 1,100 feet beyond the normal takeoff point, causing the aircraft to skid off the runway and into a ravine.
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