N469RA

On September 19, 1999, at 1215 central daylight time, a Piper PA-38-112 airplane, N469RA, sustained substantial damage when it struck a fence, fence post, and trees during a runway overrun following an aborted takeoff from a private grass airstrip near Ozark, Arkansas. The airplane was owned and operated by the pilot under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The private pilot and his passenger were not injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal cross country flight which was originating at the time of the accident. The destination was Fort Smith, Arkansas, and a flight plan was not filed.

The pilot reported that the flight departed the Franklin County Airport near Ozark, Arkansas, at 1150. Before departing on the planned cross-country flight to Fort Smith, the pilot landed at the private grass airstrip near Ozark. During the subsequent departure, the airplane was not gaining airspeed, and the takeoff was aborted. According to a drawing submitted by the pilot, the airplane had traveled 1,800 feet down the 2,600-foot airstrip when he aborted the takeoff. The pilot reported that the remaining 800 feet of the grass runway "had been replanted with new grass and had not been mowed, causing insufficient traction to stop." The passenger reported that "due to new, wet grass, the airplane slid" off the end of the runway. The airplane struck two strands of barbed wire, a metal fence post, and trees beyond the end of the runway. The airplane came to rest between two trees. The wing skins, ribs, and spars sustained damage. Additionally, the cockpit windshield was broken.