Piper PA-28-140 N56796

Summary

On 22 September 2012 at about 11:30 local time, a Piper PA-28-140 registered N56796 was involved in an accident near Maryville, Tennessee, 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

22 September 2012 at 11:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Maryville, Tennessee, United States

Nearest airport

Private Airstrip (N/A)

Coordinates

35.5078, -84.0689

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-140

Registration

N56796

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Maryville → Dayton

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA12CA585

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to plan and execute a takeoff that assured obstacle clearance at the departure end of the runway, which resulted in a collision with trees.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot/owner stated that during the takeoff from his private airstrip, the airplane was unable to gain sufficient altitude to clear the trees at the end of the grass runway. The left wing and landing gear struck the top of a tree; the airplane impacted the ground nose first and came to rest inverted. A postaccident examination revealed substantial damage to the wings, engine, firewall, and fuselage. The pilot reported there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. In addition, he stated that he did not complete performance planning calculations prior to takeoff.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.