N732RC

On July 15, 2001, about 0930 hours mountain standard time, a Cessna T210M, N732RC, veered off the runway and overturned during departure from Cliff Dwellers Lodge airstrip near Marble Canyon, Arizona. The owner was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The private pilot and one passenger sustained minor injuries; the airplane sustained substantial damage. The personal cross-country flight was en route to the Marble Canyon Airport. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.

The pilot stated that he landed at Cliff Dwellers Lodge in anticipation of launching on a rafting trip. Lodge personnel informed him that his party would be leaving from nearby Marble Canyon. He did not shut the airplane down and taxied back for takeoff on runway 22. He stated runway 22 was a 40-foot-wide dirt runway that was 3,820 feet long and the airport elevation was 4,217 feet. He used 20 degrees of flaps and said the wind was calm. He thought the runway was rough and jostled the airplane more than he was used to. The pilot stated the airplane lifted off in ground effect and veered to the left. Then the left wing and landing gear dropped, and the airplane touched down off the runway in soft dirt. The landing gear sheared off, both wings contacted the ground, and the airplane overturned.

A witness stated that the pilot departed from midfield and the runway sloped uphill in the direction of departure.

A routine aviation weather report (METAR) for Page, Arizona, 20 miles away on a bearing of 040 degrees, reported that the temperature was about 82 degrees at the time of the accident. The Safety Board investigator computed an approximate density altitude of 6,800 feet.

The Pilot's Operating Handbook (POH) states that a minimum ground run takeoff can be accomplished using 20 degrees of flaps and leaving the ground in a slightly tail-low attitude. However, it directs the pilot to immediately level off and accelerate to a safe climb speed.