CHI95LA091

The pilot began an intersection takeoff with a reported 10 to 15 knot tailwind. The pilot said his airspeed was not building up as fast as it should have. He said he decided to abort the initial climb and land. He said he realized he would not be able to stop in time and decided to continue the takeoff. During this maneuver the airplane collided with a chain link fence at the airport's border and the landing gear broke off. The pilot said he decided to return and land because he knew he '...had hit something.' The airplane landed on the takeoff runway without its landing gear.

On February 18, 1995, at 0142 central standard time (cst), a Beech BE-23, N833KS, registered to the Kansas State University at Salinas, Kansas, and piloted by a private pilot, was substantially damaged when it collided with an airport perimeter fence shortly after liftoff from runway 17 (4,251' X 75' dry asphalt) at the Hutchinson Municipal Airport, Hutchinson, Kansas. The airplane landed on runway 35 a short time later. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The instructional 14 CFR Part 91 flight was not operating on a flight plan. The pilot reported no injuries. The flight departed Hutchinson, Kansas, at 0140 cst.

According to the pilot's written and verbal statements, the takeoff was started from the intersection of runway 17 and taxiway ECHO. Once on the runway, he said he applied full power with the brakes on and then began his takeoff. He said he noticed his "...airspeed was not increasing all that fast..." during the takeoff roll. After the airplane became airborne the engine "...RPM dropped a little... ." The pilot said he decided to abort the initial climb and land. He said he realized he did not have adequate runway to complete a successful landing so he decided to go-around.

During the go-around climb he said he "...felt a jolt and heard a noise. I knew I had hit something. I did not know what or what kind of damage it could be. So I made a circle and proceeded to land on the runway." The pilot landed N833KS on runway 35, coming to a stop about midway along its length.

The on-scene investigation revealed N833KS collided with the top bar of an airport perimeter chain link fence. The collision had removed all three landing gear legs from N833KS's airframe. During an interview the pilot was asked if he knew what the wind direction was before taxiing onto the runway for takeoff. The pilot said he could not recall. He said he based his decision to use runway 17 on the fact that the control tower had been telling aircraft to use runway 13 about 1830 to 1900 cst, his time of arrival at the airport.

N833KS's engine was runup at the Kansas State University maintenance facility. The engine runup was performed twice. The first runup was performed by the University of Kansas Aviation Maintenance personnel. The second runup was performed by an independent contractor and observed by an FAA Principal Maintenance Inspector. No engine operating discrepancies were identified during either engine runup.

The university's accident review board reported the surface wind direction and speed at the accident airport was 360 degrees at 10 to 15 knots. The report said that the airplane weighed approximately 2,060 pounds before takeoff on the accident flight. The report said N833KS would have required 2,920 feet to clear a 50-foot obstacle with a 10-knot tailwind at gross weight.

N833KS had initiated its takeoff roll from the runway 17 and taxiway ECHO intersection. The distance from that point to the fence is approximately 2,700 feet.