N5211V

On January 14, 1994, at 1630 Pacific standard time, a Cessna T210L, N5211V, collided with a fence post during an attempted takeoff at the California Valley, California, airstrip. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the local area dual instructional flight. The aircraft incurred substantial damage. No injuries were incurred by the three occupants of the aircraft. The flight originated from the Santa Maria airport on the day of the mishap at 1415 hours.

According to a statement from the aircraft owner, he was enrolled in a pilot refresher training course provided by the Cessna Pilot's Association. The owner, who holds a private pilot certificate, was flying the aircraft while the commercial pilot flight instructor, provided by the Cessna Pilot's Association, gave dual instruction. The aircraft owner stated that the flight instructor had him land at the California Valley airstrip in order to practice soft field operations. The pilot noted that during the takeoff ground roll the aircraft veered left off the narrow runway and struck a metal fence post with the left horizontal stabilizer. The owner said the fence posts were only about 10 to 15 feet from the edge of the 40 foot wide runway.

The flight instructor stated that, because the pilot applied power slowly, he looked down to see just exactly what power level was set. When he looked up again, the aircraft was heading off the runway to the left toward the fence posts. The instructor reported that he took control of the aircraft as it collided with a post, regained directional control, and completed the takeoff. After an inflight assessment of the damage to the horizontal stabilizer, the instructor landed the aircraft at the airstrip.