N1693A

On July 1, 2002, about 1120, eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-22-20, N1693A, registered to and operated by a private individual as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 training flight, crashed during takeoff at Cecil Field, Jacksonville, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane incurred substantial damage, and the student-rated pilot and a commercial-rated flight instructor received no injuries. The flight originated from Herlong Airport, Jacksonville, Florida, the same day, about 1114.

The student pilot/owner stated that he possesses a current solo endorsement to operate the accident airplane, and that a flight instructor who had never received a tail wheel endorsement was with him in the airplane when the accident occurred. He further stated that he had performed a touch-and-go landing which had been uneventful, and as he was taking off, the airplane initially tracked along the centerline of the runway, but as it accelerated to about 45 or 50 knots it began to "weather vane" toward the right edge of the runway. He said he retarded the throttle to idle and applied left rudder control input, but rudder effectiveness was reduced and the airplane continued to veer to the right, where it collided with a runway edge light, swung around, and incurred damage to the left wing, left elevator, and horizontal stabilizer.

The flight instructor said that he also tried to apply rudder control input when the airplane started to veer from the centerline of the runway, but that the aircraft turned through an arc of 180 degrees within about 5 to 8 seconds, and his attempts to maintain directional control were unsuccessful.

Both occupants of the accident airplane said that prior to the accident there had been no mechanical failure or malfunction to the airplane or to any of its systems.