20251228019609A

Pilot had made a successful flight with a passenger. Upon landing and shutting down the engine, he swapped to a different passenger for another flight. On takeoff, he reported a yawing motion towards the port side, was unable to correct and maintain runway heading, it's resulting path of travel towards powerlines that run parallel to the western edge of the runway. Seeing a collision hazard the pilot stated the reduced power to idle and lowered the pitch of the aircraft to go under the power lines. At this time, the aircraft's left wing struck a chainlink fence that also runs parallel to the runway on the western edge. After making initial contact, the aircraft spun in an anti clockwise direction, making contact with a large bush and the ground. After coming to a stop, he smelled fuel so, uninjured, he and his passenger removed themselves and away from the aircraft. After towing it to his private hangar at the airfield, he contacted NTSB. Upon investigation, the aircraft showed proper annual maintenance and was within weight and balance limits for the flight. Despite the damage, airworthiness inspectors were able to determine the control surfaces for the ailerons were functional, however due to severe tail damage, were not able to determine functionality of the rudder prior to the accident. Pilot stated he observed nor heard any indications of a loss or reduction in power. Fuel had been drained from both tanks, no contamination observed. Weather was calm, with no gusts reported. As the only difference between flights was a change of passengers, pilot was questioned about the passenger. Passenger was reported as 5'10, approximately 240 lbs. He was briefed by the pilot to not touch any controls from the rear seat, however the actual position of his feet could not be determined. Based on the narrative given by the pilot, and investigation by inspectors, a leading scenario is that the left rudder pedal was blocked by the position of the passenger; that he may not have been intentionally resting his feet on the left pedal, but his foot placement acted as a "block", prohibiting full right rudder application by the pilot. This could explain the yawing motion on takeoff, as the left turning tendencies on takeoff would not have had enough rudder control to properly maintain a correct path of travel. The configuration of the runway, specifically the narrow width combined with hazards were contributing factors.