N14774

On September 17, 2000, at 1226 mountain daylight time, Bellanca 17-30A, N14774, registered to and operated by the pilot, was substantially damaged when it struck a bush during takeoff roll near Las Cruces, New Mexico. The commercial pilot was not injured, but his two passengers received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the personal flight being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight was originating at the time of the accident.

According to the pilot's accident report, he had made an uneventful landing on a dirt airstrip next to a ranch earlier that morning. After conducting business, and in preparation for departure, the ranch foreman advised the pilot that the airstrip had not been "bladed or rolled" in 3 years. He suggested he take off from a nearby road. A realtor added, "Everyone uses the road." The pilot walked along 4,000 feet of the road, and determined it was suitable for departure. A short field takeoff was attempted into a 5 to 7 knot headwind. As the airplane lifted off the road, "the left wing struck something, spinning [the airplane] around in [a] complete circle."

According to the FAA inspector who went to the accident site, the airplane veered to the left during takeoff and struck a mesquite bush. It then traveled 336 feet through the air, struck the ground, spun around 720 degrees, and skidded to a halt 1,947 feet from the start of the takeoff roll and 50 feet left of the roadside.

The inspector said it appeared "the pilot failed to apply sufficient right rudder at liftoff to maintain directional control," allowing the airplane to "drift left sufficient[ly] for the left wing to strike the mesquite bush branch." The pilot said he should not have heeded the advice of the realtor.