- Date
- May 24, 1993, 09:00 local (14:00 UTC)
- Place
- Calera, OK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N6129ZPiper PA-25-151
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 25, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930524015079A
- Case key
- 18755
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
Aircraft performance exceeded and takeoff not aborted. Factors were the soft wet turf runway
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
A newly certificated commercial pilot attempted a take off from a soft wet 2400 foot turf strip that ran uphill with the airplane's hopper full of water. The airplane never became airborne and ran through a fence
Factual narrative
On May 24, 1993, at approximately 0900 central daylight time, a Piper PA 25 151, sustained substantial during takeoff from a private airstrip near Calera, Oklahoma. The commercial pilot did not sustain injury. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed throughout the area for the personal flight.
During a telephone interview conducted by the Federal Aviation Administration inspector with the pilot and in a written statement, the following information was provided. The pilot ran out of available runway during the takeoff roll and the airplane impacted fence wires and posts at the departure end of the runway. Conditions for the 2400 foot runway were wet and soft turf that traversed up hill. A commercial rating had recently been obtained by the pilot and he had loaded the airplane hopper with water for a practice aerial application flight. According to the performance charts this placed the airplane at maximum gross weight. He further reported that he did not attempt to abort the takeoff.
The airplane was released to the owner.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6129Z
- Reported as
- Piper PA-25-151
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 25-151
- Airframe hours
- 3,200
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-A2A, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Sherrills Aviation Inc.
- Registered owner
- Sherrills Aviation Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 1, 1993 · 50 hours before
- Departed
- NONE
- Destination
- NONE
- Airport
- NONE · Boatner, runway 18, 2,400 × 40 ft, grass/turf
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
- 31
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 290 total · 25 in this make and model · 200 as pilot in command · 50 in the last 90 days · 25 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 12 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 12,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.