SEA04LA180

During the takeoff from a grass/turf runway, the pilot-in-command failed to ensure that the propeller control lever remained in the full forward position during the entire takeoff sequence. As a result, the aircraft did not lift off the ground at a point that it otherwise would have. Because the pilot did not abort the takeoff when it became clear that the aircraft was not performing as it should, the aircraft lifted off late, collided with some trees and a fence, and then settled back onto the terrain. It then experienced a collapse of all three landing gear. There was no indication that there had been any malfunction of an aircraft system, or that the engine was not capable of producing full power. The pilot-in-command did not use a checklist during his pre-takeoff and takeoff activities.

On September 5, 2004, approximately 1015 mountain daylight time, a Piper PA-32R-301T, N880SC, impacted a tree and a fence during an attempted takeoff from Picabo Airport, Picabo, Idaho. The pilot in the left seat, who holds a private pilot certificate, and the pilot in the right seat, who holds a flight instructor rating, were not injured, and neither was the pilot-rated passenger in the rear seat. The aircraft, which was owned and operated by Brett Bashaw, Trustee, sustained substantial damage. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal transportation flight, which was being operated in visual meteorological conditions, was departing for Corona, California, at the time of the accident. No flight plan had been filed.

According to both of the pilots in the front seats, the pilot in the left seat was making a takeoff from the grass/turf surface of runway 26. During the takeoff, the aircraft began drifting to the left, and it stayed on the ground well beyond the point at which the occupants (all certified pilots) expected it to become airborne. The pilot did not attempt to abort the takeoff, and as the aircraft neared the end of the grass runway, the pilot in the right seat determined that the propeller lever was not in the full forward position. He therefore reached up and pushed it forward, and then almost immediately thereafter took control of the aircraft in order to attempt to get it off the ground, and to maneuver around some trees and some fence posts located off the departure end of the runway. Although the engine rpm immediately increased when the lever was pushed forward, and the aircraft momentarily became airborne, the right seat pilot was unable to keep it in the air. During the short time it was in the air, the aircraft collided with some tree limbs and impacted a fence before settling back onto the terrain. The contact with the fence and the trees turned the aircraft sideways, and when it touched down its heading was not aligned with its direction of travel, and it therefore experienced a collapse of all three landing gear. It then slid to a stop in an open field.

In post accident interviews with both front seat pilots, they agreed that the flaps had been set at 10 percent, and that at the time that the right seat pilot reached up to push the propeller control lever forward, that the lever was not in the full forward position. They also both agreed that no checklist was used during the pre-takeoff and takeoff sequence. During these same interviews, there was a significant amount of disagreement among the occupants as to whether the right seat pilot was acting as an instructor or not, as to which of the two pilots cycled and set the propeller lever position prior to the takeoff, as to exactly how the transfer of aircraft control took place, and as to whether the propeller control lever was fully forward at the beginning of the takeoff roll. The answer to these questions could not accurately be determined, and the NTSB has made no determination as to who was acting as pilot-in-command.

Also during the interview process, both pilots in the front, and the pilot-rated passenger in the back, all stated that they did not hear or see any indication that there had been a problem with the engine producing power, and the FAA Inspector who ultimately responded to the scene stated that there was no indication that there had been any malfunction or anomaly associated with the aircraft's engine or propeller.