Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Harriet Alexander Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Salida, Colorado 81201
Tuesady, February 18, 1997 14:15 MST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot reported that during takeoff roll the aircraft accelerated to 60 MPH like it 'normally' does; however, it took 'longer than normal to accelerate to 80 MPH.' The aircraft appeared to 'lift off fine, but it didn't seem to climb as well as he would have liked.' He put the gear up and about 30 to 35 feet above the runway he lowered the aircraft's nose to accelerate to the best angle of climb airspeed. Instead of accelerating and continuing to climb, the aircraft began to descend. He 'cut the power,' and as the airplane touched down, the nose and left main landing gear collapsed. The airplane has automatic extending landing gear. The pilot did not use any flaps for the takeoff. The pressure altitude at the time of the accident was 7,489 feet and the temperature was 48 degrees Fahrenheit. The performance data derived for these conditions would be off of the chart. In the same section, there is a warning that, 'Performance information derived by extrapolation beyond the limits shown on the charts should not be used for flight planning purposes.' This was the pilot's third takeoff from a high altitude airport. Runway 24 rises 1.9 degrees, which equates to a 117 foot rise.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The airplane's performance being exceeded due to the pilot's inadequate preflight planning. Factors were the uphill runway, high density altitude, and the pilot's lack of experience performing takeoffs from a high altitude airport.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 2/18/1997 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1415 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Standard Time |
| Event City | SALIDA |
| Event State | COLORADO |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 81201 |
| Event Date Year | 1997 |
| Event Date Month | 2 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | HARRIET ALEXANDER FIELD |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 0V2 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 7489 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Pilot |
| Time of the weather observation | 0 |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 0 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 20 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 9 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -- |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 240 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 15 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | -- |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 8600 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 5 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 155 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Feb 19 1997 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 730 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 8 2000 12:07PM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N4477F |
| NTSB Number | FTW97LA107 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | VFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-32R-300 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | PA-32R-300 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 32R-7680449 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3600 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 7 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Feb 12 1997 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 4 |
| Airframe Hours | 3000 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | JAMES M. MORRIS |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 12733 HILLCREEK ROAD |
| Aircraft Owner City | WHITEHOUSE |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 75781 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | |
| Operator City | |
| Operator State | |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | |
| Operator Code | |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | Unknown |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | 0V2 |
| Departure City | |
| Departure State | |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1415 |
| Departure Time Zone | MST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | TYR |
| Destination City | TYLER |
| Destination State | TX |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 2 2001 10:34AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 24 |
| Runway Length | 7350 |
| Runway Width | 75 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |