Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Lyman, Washington 98263
Sunday, May 23, 1999 12:30 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that he initiated takeoff from a field of three inch high grass utilizing short field takeoff procedures and with the flaps retracted. As he approached the upwind end of the 1,680 foot field he applied '1 notch (10 degrees) of flaps' and then 'waited until the end and then pulled the plane in the air.' A witness reported observing the aircraft's flaps 'at 0 degrees' and that 'the aircraft was maintaining a high angle of attack and not climbing upon rotation from the runway. It continued in this attitude at about 5 feet off the ground until one of the main landing gear wheels hit a fence post on the airport boundary fence.' The pilot reported that 'about 500' or so from the tree line I could see there was just no way to get over the trees or build enough airspeed, so I pulled all power and landed in what room was left. [I] applied full brakes, then I could tell I wasn't going to stop in time, so I turned the airplane just a little to the left & crashed between 2 trees which pulled the wings off.' The Owner's Handbook for the PA-28-140 stated that both 'short field' and 'soft field' takeoffs should be conducted with two notches of flaps (25 degrees) and that 'Premature or excessive raising of the nose will result in a delayed take-off. After take-off let the aircraft accelerate to the desired climb speed by lowering the nose slightly.'

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot-in-command's improper execution of takeoff procedures, and his delay in aborting the takeoff. Contributing factors were the fence post and trees.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/23/1999
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1230
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City LYMAN
Event State WASHINGTON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 98263
Event Date Year 1999
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1255 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 228
Weather Observation Facility ID NUW
Elevation of weather observation facility 47
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 24
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
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) 7
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 17
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 12
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 240
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 0
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 366
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date May 23 1999 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1445
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 12 2000 11:35AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6216W
NTSB Number SEA99LA069
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-28-140
Aircraft Series Identifier PA-28-140
Aircraft Serial Number 28-20252
Certified Max Gross Weight 2150
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jul 1 1998 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 15
Airframe Hours 4300
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name NEW, RICHARD, A.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 5348 CANYON LAKE ROAD
Aircraft Owner City DEMING
Aircraft Owner State WA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 98244
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
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1228
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code 06S
Destination City ACME
Destination State WA
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:35AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --