- Date
- August 26, 2007, 08:00 local (13:00 UTC)
- Place
- Hagerstown, IN
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N15425Piper PA-28-180
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 31, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Indianapolis, IN, FSDO
- FAA report
- 20070826019889A
- Case key
- 66592
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's use of an unsuitable runway for takeoff and delayed aborted takeoff. Factors were the wet grass and the fence the airplane impacted and subsequently nosed over.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The airplane impacted a fence and nosed over during an aborted takeoff from runway 20 (4,000 feet by 200 feet, wet grass). The pilot stated, "It was 8:00 AM the grass was a little tall and covered with heavy dew. I did not feel that the plane was accelerating like I thought that it should." The pilot reported that about halfway down the runway the airplane lifted "slightly off the turf, then settled back down" and headed left of the centerline. The pilot said that the airplane "slid on the wet grass, struck a steel farm fence, and nosed over ... in a soybean field." The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions with the airplane in reference to the flight.
Factual narrative
The airplane impacted a fence and nosed over during an aborted takeoff from runway 20 (4,000 feet by 200 feet, wet grass). The pilot stated, "It was 8:00 AM the grass was a little tall and covered with heavy dew. I did not feel that the plane was accelerating like I thought that it should." The pilot reported that about halfway down the runway the airplane lifted "slightly off the turf, then settled back down" and headed left of the centerline. The pilot said that the airplane "slid on the wet grass, struck a steel farm fence, and nosed over ... in a soybean field." The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions with the airplane in reference to the flight.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N15425
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-7305074
- Airframe hours
- 6,278
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A4A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Hagerstown Flying Club
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 1, 2007
- Departed
- Hagerstown, IN
- Destination
- MQJ · Indianapolis, IN
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 44
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3
- Last flight review
- May 1, 2006
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 123 total · 12 in this make and model · 72 as pilot in command · 10 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 50° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.11 inHg
- Observed at
- MIE
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N15425 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.