N200HA

On May 30, 1998, at 1920 central daylight time, a Piper PA-22 airplane, N200HA, impacted a fence and terrain during the initial takeoff climb from a pasture near Balko, Oklahoma. The airplane, which was registered to and operated by the pilot, sustained substantial damage. The airline transport rated pilot and his three passengers received minor injuries. No flight plan was filed and visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the Title 14 CFR Part 91 personal cross country flight to Sylvia, Kansas.

The pilot reported in the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2) that he examined the condition of the takeoff area before the flight. He stated that, for a takeoff to the south, the area "began fairly level, then sloped down to a draw (which was smooth and grassy), the bottom being about 3/4 down the run, then sloped up to about the original height with a barbed wire fence." He further stated that he "decided that if not airborne by draw, [he] would abort" the takeoff. The pilot estimated the winds were from 180 degrees at 20 to 30 knots.

According to the pilot, the airplane lifted off "at the pre-determined point;" however, it "did not climb well at all." The airplane "seemed to stay in ground effect and climb at roughly the same rate that the terrain" sloped upward. The pilot attempted "to hop" the airplane over the barbed wire fence at the end of the pasture, "but caught the top wire." He estimated that the airplane lost a couple of feet of altitude and then began climbing. The airplane was approximately 50 feet above ground level when the pilot began to lose directional control, and one of the passengers pointed out that the inboard section of the right aileron was bent down. The pilot was unable to prevent the airplane from turning left towards rising terrain and made the decision to "set down immediately." He "pushed the nose down and forced the plane down, striking the left wing tip and left main. The plane spun around 180 degrees coming to rest against a service road for an oil well nearby."

The pilot provided the following "guess" as to the cause of the accident:

It was hot and density altitude was a factor, but was considered in planning. The wind was gusty, I wonder if we might have lifted off at the peak of a gust, then as it subsided to steady state, we were left on the edge. When we hit the wire, it apparently broke off on one end then as it came off [the] main gear [it] flipped up and bent the aileron. This made directional control impossible. I forced the plane into the ground before we rolled to the point of cartwheeling or inverted.

On the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, in the section entitled "Recommendation (How Could This Accident Have Been Prevented)," the pilot stated: "We could have opted for a 20 mile drive to nearest airport. Once landing was made, a later departure for cooler temp[erature] or leaving a passenger behind."

The FAA inspector, who examined the accident site, reported that the engine separated from the fuselage, the fuselage was buckled and twisted aft of the cabin, and the left wing outboard of the lift struts was bent downward. He further reported that both main landing gear legs were collapsed outward, and fresh scrape marks were visible in the paint on the leading edges of both gear legs. Approximately the inboard 1 foot of the right aileron was bent down. The inspector noted that the grass in the takeoff area was about 12 inches high and described the terrain in the area as "gently rolling."

Using a temperature of 93 degrees F and a ground elevation of 2,800 feet, the density altitude was calculated at 5,700 feet by the NTSB investigator-in-charge. (No correction was made for nonstandard pressure.)