NTSB Factual Report

On June 25, 2018, about 0815 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 340A airplane, N60E, overran the runway during an aborted takeoff attempt at Orlando Executive Airport (ORL), Orlando, Florida. The private pilot/owner and his 3 passengers were not injured. The airplane was substantially damaged when it encountered a large drainage culvert after it exited the paved runway surface. The airplane was registered to Little Dreams Aviation, and operated as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions existed at ORL about the time of the accident. The flight was originating from ORL when the accident occurred.

According to the pilot, the airplane was based in Michigan, and the accident flight was the first leg of a return trip to Michigan. The pilot began the takeoff roll using the full length of runway 7. He reported that at first, the takeoff roll and acceleration seemed normal, but then he felt a "sudden lag in…forward motion." The pilot stated that the maximum speed he observed on the airspeed indicator (ASI) was 43 knots, and that the ASI needle "seemed to be fluttering" at that speed, and was no longer increasing. He verified that the mixture, propeller, and throttle controls were fully forward. Based on the "lag" sensation and the ASI indications, the pilot decided to abort the takeoff.

The pilot said that he began the abort procedure when the airplane was about half-way down the runway, and he "pulled power'" and used the brakes and spoilers to decelerate the airplane. He determined that the airplane did not appear likely to stop before overrunning the end of the runway, and in order to avoid a collision with structures beyond the runway end, he steered the airplane off the right side of the runway. The airplane tracked through grass for a while, and then struck a large drainage culvert that was oriented parallel to the runway. The pilot shut down the airplane and the occupants exited. There was no fire. The airplane came to rest about 500 ft beyond the runway 25 threshold. The nose and nose landing gear were damaged, and the right side propeller was also damaged.

The pilot held a private pilot certificate with airplane singe-engine land, multi-engine land, and instrument airplane ratings. He reported that he had about 1,078 hours total flight experience, including about 396 hours in multi-engine aircraft, and about 33 hours in the accident airplane make and model.

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records indicated that the airplane was manufactured in 1979, and was equipped with two Continental Motors TSIO-520 series engines. The airplane was registered to the pilot on March 27, 2018. The pilot reported that the airplane had a total time (TT) in service of about 4,518 hours. The left engine had a TT of about 2,642 hours, and a time since major overhaul (TSMOH) of about 385 hours. The right engine had a TT and TSMOH of about 1,043 hours. The airplane's most recent annual inspection was completed in October 2017.

ORL was situated at an elevation of 113 ft above mean sea level, and was equipped with two paved runways, designated 07/25 and 13/31. Runway 7/25 was asphalt, and measured 150 ft by 6,004 ft. ORL was equipped with an air traffic control tower, which was staffed and operating at the time of the accident.

The 0753 ORL automated weather observation included winds from 070° at 4 knots, visibility 10 miles, clear skies, temperature 26° C, dew point 24° C, and an altimeter setting of 30.11 inches of mercury.