N7942W

On May 7, 1999, at 1250 mountain daylight time, a Piper PA-28-180, N7942W, operated by Garland Brothers, LLC sustained substantial damage when it struck a fence and tractor during takeoff roll on a roadway in Burlington, Wyoming. The private pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for this business flight operating under Title 14 CFR Part 91 and no flight plan was filed. The intended destination for the flight was Gillette, Wyoming.

According to the pilot, he departed Gillette at 1030, did two touch-and-go landings, and then proceeded to Burlington to deliver paychecks to his construction crew who had just finished surfacing a 1,300 foot stretch of road through a farmer's field near Burlington. The pilot said he landed on the road and used approximately half the 1,300 feet of roadway during his landing roll.

After delivering the paychecks, the pilot said he thought that since he used only about half the road distance for landing and since the aircraft was at half fuel and he was alone in the aircraft, he didn't see any problem in taking off in the 1,300 feet of roadway available.

The pilot said the aircraft reached a speed of about 50 miles per hour (mph) as he approached the end of the road and he "jerked" the aircraft off the ground. He said that following lift-off, the aircraft struck a fence with the landing gear then hit a tractor tearing off the left wing. This was followed by ground impact and the aircraft skidded approximately 200 feet through an Alfalfa field and came to rest. There was no fire.

A review of performance data in the flight manual at the reported/calculated temperature of 65 degrees Fahrenheit, a pressure altitude of 4,500 feet, an aircraft weight of 2,050, and calm wind, was conducted for a take off roll flaps zero and with 25 degrees of flaps. The charts are based on full throttle before brake release and take off from a level, paved, dry surface. The roadway used for the takeoff was compacted recycled asphalt. The flight manual does not provide for density altitude correction and the density altitude was approximately 6,000 feet.

According to the performance charts, takeoff roll with flaps up at the conditions present should have been approximately 1,250 feet using a rotate speed of 50 mph. Using 25 degrees of flaps with the same conditions, takeoff roll should have been approximately 1,150 feet.