Cessna 120 N1807V accident near Iola, Wisconsin

Probable cause

The pilot’s decision to reject the takeoff from a snow-covered grass surface, which resulted in a nose-over.

NTSB analysis

According to the pilot in the tailwheel-equipped airplane with 26-inch bush tires installed, he intended to perform several ground runs to pack the wet, snow-covered grass surface and then take off. During the start of the first ground run, the airplane accelerated quickly, and the pilot decided to take off. He reported that he believed that the airplane had entered an area of deeper snow and "thought it would be safer and more conservative to stop." He did not realize the airplane had become airborne. The pilot decreased the throttle to idle, and the airplane then decelerated and nosed over.

The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right-wing lift strut.

In the recommendation section of the National Transportation Safety Board Pilot Aircraft Accident Report, the pilot asserted that the accident could have been prevented if he had "assumed that the conditions were unacceptable as I could not ascertain with absolute certainty that the surface was acceptable."

The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for GAA18CA221 for the full record.