Piper PA-28-140 N1700T

Summary

On 23 February 2023 at about 16:48 local time, a Piper PA-28-140 registered N1700T was involved in an accident near Martinsville, Indiana, 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

23 February 2023 at 16:48

Classification

Accident

Location

Martinsville, Indiana, United States

Nearest airport

Twelve Oaks Airport (II87)

Coordinates

39.4514, -86.3283

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-140

Registration

N1700T

Category

Airplane

Year built

1970

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Danville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN23LA119

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s inadequate weather evaluation and failure to abort the takeoff that resulted in an impact with terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot attempted a short field takeoff from a grass airstrip at the time of the accident. During the airplane’s takeoff roll, the passenger, who was seated in the left pilot seat, said that the windsock was “inconsistent.” At an airplane speed of 45-50 mph, the pilot applied control back pressure to ease the airplane into ground effect. The airplane became airborne but quickly settled back onto the runway and became airborne again. The airplane airspeed did not increase and remained at 40 mph. The pilot asked the passenger to continue to read the airspeed indications as the pilot realized that they were running out of remaining runway. The pilot reduced some of the control back pressure and pushed the airplane nose down out of fear of an aerodynamic stall and in hopes of increasing airspeed. The airplane descended and impacted the ground about 100 yds south of the departure runway and nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage that included damage to the right wing, aileron, and empennage. The pilot stated there was no mechanical malfunction or failure of the airplane that would have precluded normal operations. Recorded weather observations, north and northeast and 15-16 nm from the airport, indicated a quartering tailwind relative to the runway direction prevailed at the time of the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.