AAIB Bulletin: 9/2007 G-OLFC EW/G2007/06/14

45 © Crown copyrght 2007 ACCIDENT Aircraft Type and Registration: Piper PA-38-112 Tomahawk, G-OLFC No & Type of Engines: 1 Lycoming O-235-L2C piston engine Year of Manufacture: 979 Date & Time (UTC): 24 June 2007 at 75 hrs Location: Ashcroft, a prvate arstrp approxmately 5 mles east of Oulton Park, Cheshire Type of Flight: Prvate Persons on Board: Crew -  Passengers - None Injuries: Crew - None Passengers - N/A Nature of Damage: Engine shock-loaded and displaced from its mountings. Moderate damage to rear fuselage Commander’s Licence: Private Pilot’s Licence Commander’s Age: 62 years Commander’s Flying Experience: 368 hours (of which 50 were on type) Last 90 days - 8 hours Last 28 days - 4 hours Information Source: Arcraft Accdent Report Form submtted by the plot and addtonal AAIB enqures Synopsis Durng takeoff from a grass strp the tal of the arcraft struck a fence resultng n the arcraft landng heavly n a field and coming to rest inverted. History of the flight The pilot had flown into Ashcroft on the morning of the accident flight. He subsequently walked 50 m of Runway 27 and assessed the surface as dry and sutable for departure. At approximately 1700 hrs the pilot started G-OLFC, taxied to the undershoot of Runway 27 and carried out the power checks. He estimated the surface wind to be 300º/5-10 kt. Acceleration during the takeoff roll seemed normal with one stage of flap selected. In accordance with the Pilot’s Operating Handbook soft field takeoff technique, the pilot rotated at minimum speed and then held the arcraft n ground effect to achieve a climb speed of 61 kt. Approaching the four foot hgh fence at the end of the runway, the plot rotated further to the climb attitude. The rear fuselage underside struck the fence, pitching G-OLFC nose-down. This caused the nosewheel to strike the ground and collapse. The arcraft subsequently ptched down and came to rest inverted facing back towards the airfield. The pilot, who was wearng a full harness, swtched off the fuel and battery master swtch before beng dragged from the wreckage by the airfield owner. AAIB Bulletin: 9/2007 G-OLFC EW/G2007/06/14 46 © Crown copyrght 2007 AAIB Bulletin: 9/2007 G-OLFC EW/G2007/06/14 Eyewitness Report An eyewitness observed the takeoff roll. He reported that the wnd was lght and varable and that durng the takeoff run the acceleration appeared slow. He also reported that the arcraft adopted a hgh nose-up atttude shortly before the accident. Performance The plot had carred out a calculaton of the arcraft’s takeoff performance ncorporatng both a factor for grass and the CAA recommended safety factor of 1.33. The plot calculated that wth a 0 kt headwnd and at maxmum takeoff weght, a dstance of 537 m was required to clear a 50 ft obstacle. He estimated that his actual takeoff weght was 9 lbs less than the maxmum allowed. CAA Change Sheet number 4 issue 1 to the Piper PA-38-112 Pilot’s Operating Handbook ‘Performance Writedown’, states that: ‘Take-off field lengths – Add 5%‘. This was not included in the pilot’s calculation. Runway Runway 27 is declared in various flight guides as 550 m long. This length is based on information provided to the current owner by previous owners. The current owner has nformed the AAIB of hs ntenton to re-measure the runway to ensure the accuracy of the distance declared. Pilot’s Assessment The plot consdered that several factors may have caused the accident. He suggests that the performance of G-OLFC was below that calculated. This may have been due to a lower headwnd factor or possbly a draggng brake. He also suggested that the strip may be shorter than allowed for in his calculations. However, the pilot consdered t lkely that he was concentratng on the approachng fence and msjudged the pull up from level acceleration to climb away.