20000815036759A

(-23)On August 15, 2000 at 1409 CDT, a Piper PA-28-161, N8126V, operated by scott robert haley crashed shortly after takeoff from Watertown municipal airport, Watertown, wiconsin on a pleasure flight to baraboo, Wisconsin. VFR conditions prevailed at the time and the pilot had obtained a weather briefing. The aircraft was destroyed by fire. The pilot and the two passengers received fatal injuries. The weather conditions recorded at the Watertown AWOS at 1402 CDT was, wind 300 degrees at 10 knots, 10 mile visibility, scattered clouds at 2700 feet, temperature 31 degrees celsius, dew point 27 degrees celsius and altimeter 30.03. The investigation revealed the pilot was in the right hand seat, the pilot did not have a current medical certificate, the pilot took off downwind on runway 11 and the aircraft was 180 pounds over its gross weight. No abnormalities were discovered within the aircraft or its powerplant. (.19)on August 15, 2000, at 1409 central daylight time, a Piper PA-28-161, N8126V, piloted by a private pilot, was destroyed during an in-flight collision with the terrain and subsequent post-impact fire following a loss of c ontrol during initial climb from runway 11 (2,801 feet by 75 feet, dry/asphalt) at the Watertown municipal airport, Watertown, Wisconsin. Visual metrological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was operating under the provisions of 14 CFR part 91 and was not on a flight plan. The pilot and his two passengers sustained fatal injuries. The flight was originating at the time of the accident and had the intended destination of the baraboo Wisconsin dells airport, baraboo, Wisconsin. According to written statements and witness interviews, the pilot announced over the UNICOM frequency that he was going to depart to the north and was going to utilize runway 11 for his departure runway. Another pilot, who was entering the airport area from the northwest, announced his intentions of performing touch & goes on runway 29. He reported that he did not hear any response from the accident airplane and continued to enter the traffic pattern for runway 29. He stated that he announced his traffic pattern position and intentions for touch & goes on runway 29 multiple times prior to the accident aircraft's takeoff roll on runway 11. He reported that the accident airplane departed runway 11 and then started a right, nose-high, turn. He stated that the accident airplane was in a 45-degree bank turn and that the airplane's landing light, located on the nose of the airplane, was clearly visible during the right turn. He stated that he was at an altitude of approximately 1,800 feet above mean sea level (MSL) when he saw the accident airplane in the nose-high turn at an altitude of 200 to 300 feet above ground level (AGL). He reported that he maneuvered his airplane to remain clear of the projected flight path of the accident airplane, subsequently losing sight of the accident airplane. He stated that when he was on base-leg for runway 29 he noticed smoke rising from a field below his position. A weather observation station, located at the Watertown municipal airport, Watertown, Wisconsin, reported the weather seven minutes prior to the accident as: observation time: 1402 CDT wind: 300-degrees at 10 knots visibility: 10 statute miles sky condition: 2,700 feet AGL scattered temperature: 31-degrees centigrade dew point temperature: 27-degrees centigrade pressure: 30.02 inches of mercury. An examination of the wreckage was conducted on August 16, 2000. All components of the aircraft were identified and accounted for at the accident site. A post-impact fire compromised the main passenger cabin from the engine firewall aft to the empennage. No anomalies, relative to the engine or its accessories, were found to be associated with a preexisting condition. Federal aviation administration (FAA) records indicated the pilot's weight as 230 pounds. Department of transportation (dot) records indicate that the two passengers weighed 240 pounds and 134 pounds. A bicycle, pilot supplies, and assorted personal artifacts were located at the accident site, but were compromised by the post-impact fire and actual weights could not be accurately determined. The accident aircraft records revealed that the useful load for N8126V was 733 pounds.