Accident Dassault Falcon 900 N914DD,

ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 321947

Date:	Sunday 10 June 2007
Time:	14:15
Type:	Dassault Falcon 900
Owner/operator:	Trishan Air
Registration:	N914DD
MSN:	80
Year of manufacture:	1990
Engine model:	Garrett TFE731-5BR
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 15
Aircraft damage:	Substantial, repaired
Category:	Accident
Location:	Santa Barbara Municipal Airport, CA (SBA) - United States of America
Phase:	Take off
Nature:	Executive
Departure airport:	Santa Barbara Municipal Airport, CA (SBA/KSBA)
Destination airport:	Tampa International Airport, FL (TPA/KTPA)
Investigating agency:	NTSB
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
The Falcon 900 jet was being prepared for at flight from Santa Barbara (SBA) to Tampa (TPA). The captain supervised the fueling and the weight and balance computations, while the first officer filled out the takeoff and landing distance (TOLD) card; a center of gravity (CG) location was not computed. The first officer entered a takeoff gross weight of 45,400 pounds on the TOLD card, with the V-speeds for that weight entered on the card (V1 116 knots and Vr 129 knots). Post accident calculations revealed that the actual gross takeoff weight was 46,481 pounds and the CG was 15.73% of mean aerodynamic chord (MAC), which was within the maximum gross takeoff weight and center of gravity limits of 46,500 pounds and 14 to 31% MAC, respectively. The V-speeds for the actual gross weight are V1 118 knots and Vr 131 knots. The crew set the stabilizer trim at -5.5 degrees, which is in the takeoff range, from -4.5 degrees to -7.5 degrees. For the airplanes calculated CG of 15.73% MAC, the right setting for the stabilizer trim should have been between -7 and -7.5 degrees. The captain said that everything was normal in the takeoff. The first officer called V1, followed by Vr, at which time he pulled back on the yoke, but with no response. When the speed was well into the upper 130-knot range he relaxed the yoke, then pulled aft again, and again there was no response from the airplane. Power was then immediately reduced to the stops, full nose forward pressure was applied to the yoke, and maximum braking effort was applied. The airplane departed the end of runway 25 just to the right of centerline. After exiting the end of the runway the airplane impacted a berm, which resulted in the nose landing gear collapsing rearward and the airplane sliding on its nose before coming to a stop about 100 yards off the end of the runway into the dirt.

PROBABLE CAUSE: "The erroneous gross weight calculation and improper trim setting by the captain, which resulted in the airplane's failure to rotate at Vr as expected and the captain's decision to perform to a high speed aborted takeoff."

Accident investigation: