Two People In Vehicle Lost In February 1 Mishap

The National Transportation Safety Board issued its Preliminary Report this week on the February 1 accident involving a Piper PA-18-150 Super Cub and a sport utility vehicle at a private airstrip in the Florida panhandle. As ANN reported, both occupants inside the vehicle were killed when the jeep impacted a treeline after the collision.

According to the Prelim, the pilot of the Cub saw the jeep and a motorbike start driving down the runway ahead of his plane, before he started the takeoff roll. "The pilot also reported that he had performed this same type of procedure many times in which the dirt bike and jeep would drive down the runway, and he would then depart in the same direction and fly low over them," the Board notes.

"After becoming airborne he remained close to the runway and passed to the right side of the jeep. He felt a bump and knew he had impacted the jeep. He also noted that the left wing navigation light was hanging down. He performed a 180 degree turn and landed uneventfully to the east." Neither the pilot nor his passenger in the Cub were injured.

The pilot told investigators his plane was flying at 75 mph, and overtook the jeep traveling about half that speed. "There was no briefing before takeoff though they knew he was going to takeoff and he (the pilot) had seen the dirt bike and jeep depart before he applied power to takeoff," the report states.

The FAA inspector-in-charge determined the Cub's left wing was buckled near the wing root, with damage to the fabric covering the wing's leading edge.

A Probable Cause report is expected to be released within one year.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov