LAX95LA065

The pilot attempted a takeoff from a muddy, dirt strip without first inspecting the condition of the surface. The length of the strip is 1,000 feet. The aircraft clipped a wire fence at the departure end and crash-landed into an adjacent field. The pilot reported no mechanical problems with the aircraft.

On December 29, 1994, at 1235 hours Pacific standard time, a Piper PA-22-161, N2269Z, nosed over during an attempted takeoff from a privately-owned dirt strip at Elko, Nevada. The aircraft was substantially damaged and the pilot and one of his two passengers were not injured. The other passenger received a minor injury. Visual meteorological conditions existed at the time for the personal flight to Kellogg, Idaho.

The accident was reported by a deputy sheriff who noticed the aircraft upside-down in a muddy field. The pilot reportedly recovered the aircraft to his home and drove to Idaho afterwards.

The pilot reported that he had made several flights into the dirt strip before the weather warmed up which softened the runway surface considerably, especially at the departure end. He said he failed to inspect the runway condition prior to takeoff. He described the dirt surface as muddy. The length of the dirt strip is 1,000 feet. During the takeoff, he used the entire runway and clipped the barbed wire fence at the end. The aircraft crashed into the field, buckled the left main landing gear, and nosed over. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions with the aircraft prior to the accident.