Piper PA-28-140 N55338

Summary

On 10 August 2022 at about 14:30 local time, a Piper PA-28-140 registered N55338, operated by West Michigan Flight Academy, was involved in an accident near Sparta, Michigan, United States. 3 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

10 August 2022 at 14:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Sparta, Michigan, United States

Nearest airport

Paul C Miller - Sparta (8D4)

Coordinates

43.1295, -85.6795

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-140

Registration

N55338

Category

Airplane

Year built

1973

Engines

1

Operator

West Michigan Flight Academy

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Sparta → Sparta

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN22LA385

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s delayed decision to reject the takeoff, resulting in a runway excursion and impact with a fence.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that after liftoff, the airplane did not seem to be accelerating. She pushed the nose down to accelerate in ground effect; however, the airplane was approaching the end of the runway and, in her judgement, may not have had sufficient altitude to clear a line of trees. The pilot decided to reject the takeoff. After touching down, she “immediately” applied full brakes but was unable to stop before the airplane departed the end of the runway. It continued into the grass and impacted the airport perimeter fence. A postaccident engine examination did not reveal any anomalies consistent with an inability to produce rated power. The airplane was loaded within the specified gross weight and center-of-gravity limits and the runway length was sufficient based on published performance data. The pilot noted that factors adversely affecting airplane takeoff performance were the elevated density altitude, the near-maximum airplane gross weight, the upsloping runway, and the additional altitude required to clear the tree line. She added that a short field takeoff procedure may have provided additional climb performance and clearance from the tree line. Although the published airplane performance indicated the takeoff could have been completed safely, the pilot prudently decided to reject the takeoff when the obstacle clearance was in doubt. The decision was made without sufficient runway available to land and resulted in the runway excursion and impact with the airport perimeter fence.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.