N3700T

On May 24, 2000, at 0930 hours Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-28R-180, N3700T, landed hard after an aborted takeoff during initial climb at Tonopah, Nevada. The commercial pilot and his passenger were not injured. The airplane owned and operated by the pilot, sustained substantial damage during the hard landing. The pilot did not file a flight plan, and the airplane was being flown under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The pilot was destined for Willits, California, when the accident occurred. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident.

The pilot stated that he departed Willits at 0630, and continued on to Tonopah where he landed on runway 33. He described the winds at the time as "light." He said he taxied to the fuel pump and topped off the fuel tanks. After refueling the airplane, he taxied to runway 33 for departure. He stated he did a run-up and magneto check, which appeared to be normal. He said he taxied onto the active runway approximately 0930. He said the winds were light and the temperature was about 70 to 75 degrees.

On the takeoff roll he said he pulled the airplane off prematurely as the airplane felt "like it was in ground effect." The pilot said at that point, he felt he needed to abort the takeoff to prevent a stall. He said the airplane dropped several feet onto the concrete runway, damaging the main gear and wings. The pilot told investigators that he did not have an engine problem but that the takeoff seemed "mushy."