Piper PA 32RT-300T N22267

Summary

On 20 February 2015 at about 16:17 local time, a Piper PA 32RT-300T registered N22267 was involved in an accident near Lubbock, Texas, 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

20 February 2015 at 16:17

Classification

Accident

Location

Lubbock, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Lubbock Executive Airpark (F82)

Coordinates

33.4856, -101.8128

Aircraft

Piper PA 32RT-300T

Registration

N22267

Category

Airplane

Year built

1978

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lubbock → Fort Worth

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN15LA149

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's delayed decision to abort the takeoff after the airplane did not lift off as expected due to an inaccurate airspeed indication and tailwind condition, which resulted in a subsequent runway overrun.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot was conducting a short-field takeoff from the private, 3,500-ft-long paved runway. He reported that, upon reaching 80 knots indicated airspeed, he applied aft control yoke pressure to rotate; however, the airplane did not respond to his control input. The pilot attempted to rotate a second time using both hands on the yoke, but the airplane still did not rotate, and he aborted the takeoff as the airplane crossed the runway midpoint. The pilot was unable to stop the airplane before it overran the end of the runway into a plowed field, where the landing gear collapsed. Postaccident examination did not identify any flight control system anomalies that would have precluded normal airplane operation; however, testing of the airplane's airspeed indicator revealed that it consistently read 5 knots higher than the calibrated test equipment. Consequently, the pilot likely attempted to rotate at an actual airspeed that was 5 knots lower than intended. The pilot and his passenger both reported that, shortly before takeoff, they heard someone broadcast on the airport frequency that the local surface wind was from the west-southwest at 4 knots with 14 knots gusts; however, a postaccident review of available weather data indicated the prevailing surface wind was likely from the west-northwest between 9 to 15 knots with gusts as high as 23 knots. Wind from this direction would have resulted in tailwind component of 4-8 knots, which would have increased the airplane's takeoff distance and the ground speed required to achieve liftoff. It is likely that the combination of the inaccurate airspeed indication and the tailwind component during takeoff resulted in the airplane's inability to achieve a normal takeoff rotation at the expected point on the runway.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.