# Accident 20050306003719A: Piper PA28140, Suches, GA, March 6, 2005

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 6, 2005, 17:00 local time
- Place: Suches, GA
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Takeoff Ground Roll
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 34.6983° N, 84.0133° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.6983&lon=-84.0133&mi=10
- Aircraft: N7209J, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N7209J-2013-05-06) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-28-140 (registry code 7102802, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-140) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA28140
- Reported engine: LYC O320*
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 172 total, 150 in this make and model, 3 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ATL05CA058](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL05CA058) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050306003719A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(-23) THE PILOT STATED THAT DURING WHAT STARTED OUT TO BE A NORMAL TAKE OFF ROLL THE AIRCRAFT LIFTED OFF AND ABRUPTLY SETTLED BACK ONTO THE RUNWAY. HE STATED THAT HE HAD "GOOD POWER AND GOOD SPEED" DURING THE TAKEOFF ROLL. PILOT ALSO STATED THAT THE AIRCRAFT ELEVATOR CONTROL FELT VERY HEAVY WHEN HE ATTEMPTED TO ROTATE ON TAKE OFF. A WITNESS STATEMENT WAS CONSISTENT WITH THE PILOT'S STATEMENT THAT THE AIRCRAFT SETTLED ABRUPTLY BACK ONTO THE RUNWAY AFTER IT LIFTED OFF TO ABOUT 5 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND. THE WITNESS ALSO STATED THAT THE AIRCRAFT SEEMED TO STAY ON THE GROUND LONGER THAN SIMILAR AIRCRAFT WHILE SIGHTING THE POINT ON THE RUNWAY AT WHICH OTHER AIRCRAFT USUALLY BECAME AIRBORNE. DURING THE ON SCENE INSPECTION OF THE AIRCRAFT FLIGHT CONTROLS, IT WAS NOTED THAT THE ELEVATOR TRIM WAS SET FOR APPROXIMATELY 3/4 NOTCH OF NOSE DOWN TRIM AND THE ELEVATOR CONTROLS OTHERWISE OPERATED AS THEY SHOULD HAVE. SEE ATTACHED PICTURE OF ELEVATOR TRIM CONTROL SETTING.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB ATL05CA058](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL05CA058), Mar 6, 2005: Piper PA-28-140 (N7209J), Suches, GA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's premature liftoff and failure to maintain adequate airspeed during takeoff, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/mush to the runway and subsequent collision with a fence during aborted…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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