N32583

On July 29, 1998, at 1252 eastern daylight time, N32583, a Piper PA-28-140, was substantially damaged when it collided with terrain shortly after takeoff from the Salem Airport, Salem, New Jersey. The certificated private pilot and passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a visual flight rules flight plan was filed. The personal flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. The intended destination was Troy, New York.

According to the pilot, his airspeed during climb out was "normal" at 70 knots. He said he cleared the end of the 2,300 foot long, grass runway, when a gust of wind (wind shear) caused the airplane to drop about 10 to 15 feet. The airplane struck 10 foot tall, dense swamp reeds, 100 feet beyond the departure end of the runway. He said, "the airplane rotated 180 degrees, struck tail first and ended up inverted in swamp."

Due to the inaccessibility of the wreckage, and lack of examination, a Federal Aviation Administration Inspector initially classified it as an incident; however, an aerial examination later revealed that the fuselage was broken in half, and it was then upgraded to an accident on October 5, 1998.

According to a Piper PA-28-140 airplane flight manual, the takeoff distance Vs density altitude at a density altitude of 2,000 feet required a ground run of 900 feet. The distance to clear a 50 foot obstacle would be about 2,000 feet.

The pilot reported over 1,210 hours of total flight experience. He said that there was no mechanical malfunction with the airplane or the engine. He said the reported winds at the time of the accident were from the southwest at 6 to 10 knots, with gusts to 12 knots.