NYC94LA132

The pilot taxied the airplane out of the parking ramp onto the parallel taxiway, and taxied to the runup area in preparation for takeoff. The airplane was positioned on the runway, and the takeoff roll was initiated. The opposite end of the runway could not be seen at the beginning of the takeoff roll, due to a 'hump' near the center of the runway. Shortly after liftoff, the pilot observed birds rising from the opposite end of the runway. The airplane collided with the birds and the pilot aborted the takeoff. The airplane glided past the end of the runway, touched down on a downhill slope, and collided with a chain linked fence. Birds were known to flock to this airport, and the airport had publicized that birds are in the vicinity of the runway in several publications. The area that the birds flock to, and both ends of the runway, are visible when taxiing out of the parking ramp. A witness was able to observed the birds on the runway from the parking ramp.

On July 21, 1994, at 1030 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172N, N76090, operated by the Saratoga Flying Club and piloted by Paul Pugh, was substantially damaged during a forced landing after an aborted takeoff at the Chatham Airport, Chatham, Massachusetts. The pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the flight operating under 14 CFR 91.

In the NTSB Form 6120.1/2, the pilot stated:

"...I taxied down the taxi way to the run-up area...While taxing I could not see the seagulls on the runway...Shortly after takeoff (30 to 40 feet) I saw that I was about to fly over a large flock of seagulls that covered a section of the runway... They [seagulls] flew up into my plane. There were multiple impacts of birds. I decided to abort the takeoff and tried to land back on the runway. I couldn't get back down on the runway before it ended. About 100 feet past the end of the runway there is a valley and the airport perimeter fence. The nose wheel of the plane struck the ground just before hitting the fence..."

A witness at the airport stated:

"...I was standing near the main airport building at about the middle of the runway...There is a small crest at the middle of the runway. Just past the crest, standing on the runway, was a flock of seagulls, about 40 birds. The white plane took off just before the crest. At the same time the flock of gulls took off. The plane was about 10 feet in the air when it hit the flock...The plane stayed about 5 feet off the runway, I don't believe it ever touched the runway...it passed the end of the runway then it disappeared behind some bushes..."

In an interview with airport personnel, they stated that when an aircraft is in position for takeoff at either end of the runway, the opposite ends are not visible. The "hump" in the runway is located in the vicinity of where the parking ramp exits to the parallel taxiway. From the intersection of the ramp exit, and the parallel taxiway, both ends of the runway are visible. Birds on the runway are also visible from this position.

Birds in the vicinity of the runway, are mentioned in the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) Directory, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Airport Facility Directory, and in the Military Visual Flight Rules (VFR)- Supplement.