LAX04FA226

The airplane descended to ground impact in the takeoff initial climb. On the takeoff roll and initial climb from a 4,670-foot runway, witnesses heard the engine sputtering, missing, and backfiring. An additional witness on the airport reported that his attention was drawn to the runway by "snap" and "pop" sounds from the engine. When he looked toward the noise, he saw the accident airplane about midfield. It sounded to him as if the engine were running lean. The airplane lifted off the ground and appeared to climb out slowly. He then heard the engine "snap" and "pop" again, which occurred a couple of times with about 2 to 3 seconds between each cycle. The abnormal engine sounds stopped, and the airplane climbed for an additional 5 seconds before the nose pitched up about 10 degrees. The witness then saw the airplane develop a high sink rate with an increasing nose up pitch attitude. Witnesses said the airplane remained in a nose high, wings level attitude until just before it dropped behind a tree line when the right wing dropped and the airplane hit the ground. The witness estimated the airplane traveled about 3/4 down the runway where it reached its highest altitude of 50 feet above the ground. A post impact fire ensued and the cockpit and engine were thermally damaged. An airframe and engine inspection and teardown were conducted with no preimpact mechanical anomalies noted that would have precluded normal operation. Investigators were able to establish that the owner (a private pilot) was seated in the right seat, and the commercial pilot was seated in the left seat. Investigators were not able to determine who was manipulating the controls at the time of the accident. The toxicology results for the commercial pilot showed levels of marihuana in the pilot's blood that indicated recent use, likely within the 8 hours prior to the accident.

History of flight

On May 31, 2004, at 1056 Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-28R-180, N7626J, collided with level terrain following a loss of engine power after takeoff from runway 17 at Columbia Airport (O22), Columbia, California. The pilot/owner operated the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight. The airplane was destroyed in the post impact fire. The private pilot/owner (seated in the right seat) and the commercial pilot (seated in the left seat) sustained fatal injuries. The cross-country flight originated from the Minden-Tahoe Airport (MEV) at 0900, and stopped at O22 before departing for the return flight to MEV about 1050. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.

Several witnesses located at various locations on the airport heard the accident airplane's engine "missing, sputtering, and backfiring" during the takeoff roll. One witness reported that during the engine run up, he did not hear the engine "make full rpm," like other airplanes that he had heard on previous occasions. He watched the airplane taxi onto the runway and begin its takeoff roll. The airplane did not "make much speed," and he could hear it backfire after it traveled about 100 feet down the runway. The witness stated that the airplane continued down the runway and the engine backfired again. He lost sight of it as it passed a small knoll and he expected to see the airplane get airborne. A few minutes later he saw smoke at the south end of the runway.

Another witness reported hearing a rough sounding engine. When he turned toward the runway he heard the engine "popping" and saw the accident airplane in ground effect. The engine sound "ran better for a few seconds (no popping)," and the airplane climbed out of ground effect. He heard the engine start to pop again and the airplane started to sink. He reported that the airplane was about 10 feet above ground level (agl) when the right wing dipped and he saw a cloud of dirt rising in the air. He arrived on scene about 3 minutes later and reported that the airplane was fully engulfed in flames.

An additional witness on the airport reported that his attention was drawn to the runway by a "snap" and "pop." When he looked toward the noise, he saw the accident airplane about midfield. It sounded to him as if the engine were running lean. The airplane lifted off the ground and appeared to climb out slowly. He then heard the engine "snap" and "pop" again, which occurred a couple of times with about 2 to 3 seconds between each cycle. The abnormal engine sounds stopped, and the airplane climbed for an additional 5 seconds before the nose pitched up about 10 degrees. The witness then reported that the airplane developed a high sink rate with an increasing nose up pitch attitude. The airplane remained in a nose high, wings level attitude; however, right before it dropped behind a tree line he saw the wings wobble slightly, and estimated the airplane traveled about 3/4 down the runway where it reached its highest altitude of 50 feet above the ground.

A witness near the accident site stated that he was in his backyard and heard the accident airplane's engine sputter and then it "kicked in." The engine sputtered again followed by "complete silence." When he looked up, he saw the airplane impact the hill.

All of the witnesses reported that there was no fire or smoke emanating from the airplane prior to it impacting the hill. After the airplane impacted the hill, they saw fire and black smoke. The witnesses were not able to say which pilot was flying the airplane during the accident flight. They did recall hearing a male making radio calls when the airplane arrived at the airport, but did not recall who was making radio calls when the airplane departed on the accident flight.

Personnel information

Pilot/Owner (Right Seat)

A review of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airman records revealed that the pilot/owner held a private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single engine land.

The pilot held a third-class medical certificate that was issued on May 05, 2004. It had limitation that the pilot must wear corrective lenses. The pilot reported a total flight time of 500 hours on his most recent FAA medical application.

No personal flight records for the pilot were made available to the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge (IIC).

Commercial Pilot (Left Seat)

A review of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airman records revealed that the pilot held a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single engine land, multiengine land, and instrument airplane.

The pilot held a first-class medical certificate that was issued on February 23, 2004. It had no limitations or waivers. The pilot reported a total flight time of 325 hours on her most recent FAA medical application.

No personal flight records for the pilot were made available to the Safety Board IIC.

Aircraft information

The airplane was a 1968 Piper PA-28R-180, serial number 28R31007. Flashback Aviation, Minden, Nevada, had been maintaining the airplane since 1999. A review of the logbooks reported the last recorded annual inspection took place on December 1, 2003, with a recorded tachometer time of 5,756.0 hours. On May 6, 2004, Chaparral Avionics, Inc., Minden, inspected the transponder and altimeter, encoder, and static systems, and recorded the tachometer time as 5,783.37 hours. On the day of the accident, the tachometer was recorded as 5,784.71 hours.

The airplane had a Textron Lycoming IO-360-B1E engine, serial number L-5735-51A, installed. Total time for the engine recorded on the day of the accident was 5,784.1 hours. The engine had been overhauled in May of 1988, with a recorded time since major overhaul as 1,192.5 hours on November 11, 2002.

Fueling records at Soar-Minden established that the airplane was last fueled on May 30, 2004, with the addition of 11.40 gallons of 100 LL aviation fuel. Soar-Minden personnel indicated that the fuel was "topped off," and reached the tabs. They also serviced the tires with air prior to departure from MEV. There were no unresolved maintenance discrepancies against the airplane prior to departure.

Meteorological information

The closest official weather observation station was the Columbia Airport (O22), Columbia, which was located 0.25 nautical miles (nm) north of the accident site. The elevation of the weather observation station was 2,118 feet mean sea level (msl). A routine aviation weather report (METAR) for O22 issued at 1800, reported visibilities as 10 statute miles with clear skies; winds from 180 degrees at 3 knots; temperature 27 degrees Celsius; dew point 8 degrees Celsius; altimeter 30.22 InHg.

Airport information

The Airport/ Facility Directory, Southwest U. S., indicated that runway 17 at O22 was 4,670 feet long and 75 feet wide. The runway surface was composed of asphalt.

Wreckage and impact information

Investigators from the Safety Board, the FAA, New Piper Aircraft, Inc., and Textron Lycoming examined the wreckage at the accident scene.

The accident area was in the central Sierra gold country. The airplane impacted a flat area on top of a hill about 1/4 mile from the departure end of runway 17. The debris path was along a magnetic bearing of 196 degrees. The wreckage came to rest on a magnetic heading of 248 degrees, and at global positioning system (GPS) coordinates of 38 degrees 01.267 minutes north latitude and 120 degrees 24.926 minutes west longitude. The elevation was 2,096 feet.

The airplane came to rest in an upright attitude. A ground scar, recorded as the first identified point of contact (FIPC), was 35 feet east of the main wreckage and measured 15 feet in length. A second ground scar to the left of the FIPC measured 10 feet in length. A third ground scar to the left