N6295Z

On December 2, 1997, at 1330 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-46-350P, N6295Z , operated by Hov-Aire, Inc., sustained substantial damage when it hit trees on the side of the runway during an aborted takeoff. The 14 CFR Part 91 flight was departing an unnamed grass airstrip on a local maintenance test flight with Kalamazoo, Michigan, as the destination. The pilot lost control of the aircraft after it hit a dip in the runway. The private pilot and passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed.

The pilot reported that he was departing a private airfield located about seven miles south of Kalamazoo, Michigan. The airplane went over a large hump in the runway during the takeoff roll at about 800 feet from the approach end of the runway. The pilot reported the airplane veered to the left and the "takeoff was aborted."

An Operations Safety Inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration interviewed the passenger who had sat in the right seat of the airplane during the accident. The passenger, who was on board to monitor the instruments, reported that the intended flight was a maintenance test flight. The passenger reported that the airplane entered a large dip in the runway about 1,200 feet from the approach end of the runway. He reported the airplane became "airborne near stall speed." The left wing struck the ground. The airplane departed the left side of the runway at about a 45 degree angle and traveled approximately another 1,000 feet before striking a row of small trees before coming to rest.

The examination of the airplane revealed no abnormalities.