ATL96LA117

The pilot stated that during the takeoff roll, the airplane's engine was 'developing full power,' the tail lifted off, and the airplane was about to become airborne, when the engine lost power. He stated, the speed was too fast for him to stop before running off the end of the runway and into a peanut field. The airplane nosed over, and a fire erupted. During the investigation, no reason was found for the loss of engine power; however, most of the engine was destroyed by ground fire. The pilot stated that the engine was running 'normally' on the previous flight.

On August 7, 1996, about 0915 eastern daylight time, a Grumman G-164A, N8672H, was destroyed during takeoff at a private dirt airstrip near Dawson, Georgia. The airplane was being operated by Dixie Air Service of Dawson, Georgia under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 137. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan had been filed for the aerial application flight. The commercial pilot was not injured in the accident. The flight was originating at the time of the accident. The pilot stated that during the takeoff roll, the airplane's engine was "developing full power," the tail lifted off, and the airplane was about to become airborne, "when [the] engine failure occurred." He stated, "...the speed was fast enough that I was unable to stop before running off the end of the runway into [a] peanut field. The airplane nosed over, and caught fire. The pilot further stated that the engine was running "normally" on the previous flight.

According to the FAA inspector's statement, the engine was examined by a certified mechanic, who reported to the FAA that "heat damage had been so severe" that most of the engine was "destroyed by the fire," and a determination of "what failed on the engine was unable to be performed...." There was no determination of what caused the loss of engine power.