Piper PA-23-160 N245TB

Summary

On 12 August 2006 at about 14:21 local time, a Piper PA-23-160 registered N245TB was involved in an accident near Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

12 August 2006 at 14:21

Classification

Accident

Location

Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States

Nearest airport

Santa Fe County Muni (SAF)

Coordinates

35.6169, -106.0894

Aircraft

Piper PA-23-160

Registration

N245TB

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Santa Fe → Ponca City

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN06LA113

Nobody was injured.

the pilot's improper decision to continue the attempted takeoff when Vx airspeed was not obtained, and failure to abort the takeoff during ground roll which resulted in an impact on the remaining runway with the landing gear retracted. A contributing factor was the high density altitude.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

Prior to takeoff, the run-up revealed no anomalies. After the pilot received takeoff clearance for runway 2 (8,342 feet long by 150 feet wide), he applied full power and checked the propeller controls to confirm they were full forward. The pilot reported, "After a few seconds of full power, it seemed the aircraft was sluggish to develop airspeed in order to reach rotation speed of 64 knots indicated airspeed (KIAS). [The pilot] assumed it was due to the density altitude and full fuel." After rotation at "red line Vx speed," the pilot lowered the airplane's nose in an attempt to obtain "blue line" airspeed; however, the airplane would not accelerate beyond Vx speed. The pilot felt "the engines were not producing full power." Subsequently, the pilot elected to abort the takeoff and attempted to land back on the remaining runway. The aircraft landed on the runway with the gear retracted. The pilot noted no anomalies on the engine instruments during the attempted takeoff. Examination of the airframe and engines revealed no anomalies. The calculated density altitude was 8,180 feet mean sea level. According to the NTSB Pilot Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1), Recommendation (How could this accident have been prevented) section, the pilot reported, "Should have aborted take off earlier on ground roll."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.