N3559E

On August 05, 2013, a Cessna 182T (N3559E) was involved in an incident near Mackinac Island, MI. All 3 people aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: The pilot's delayed response to abort the takeoff, which resulted in an excursion and collision with a fence. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to check the pitot tube for debris during preflight.

The pilot reported that during the takeoff roll the airplane visually appeared and felt to be accelerating normally, but the airspeed indicator never increased above 40 knots. The pilot aborted the takeoff when the airplane was halfway down the runway. The pilot said he used brakes to decelerate but the airplane was skidding on the wet runway. The pilot was unable to stop and went off the runway and collided with a wood fence, which resulted in substantial damage to the right elevator. Examination of the airplane found the pitot tube was filled with debris. According to the operator, the airplane was not equipped with a pitot tube cover.

This incident is documented in NTSB report CEN13CA469. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N3559E.