What happened
The aircraft collided with a car while attempting to depart from an airport runway. The pilot reported that the aircraft was unable to reach the necessary flying speed for lift-off. Consequently, she decided to abort the takeoff procedure approximately halfway down the runway.
Prior to this attempt, the pilot and her passengers spent about 25 minutes removing frost from the aircraft's surfaces. Despite these de-icing efforts, the airspeed indicator never moved off of zero during the acceleration phase. Because of this lack of indicated airspeed, the pilot did not attempt to rotate or get the aircraft off the ground.
The investigation
The primary mechanical finding was that the airspeed indicator remained stationary at zero throughout the takeoff roll. This failure to register any airspeed prevented the pilot from determining if the aircraft had achieved sufficient velocity for flight.
Findings
- Zero indicated airspeed during the takeoff roll
- Frost contamination on the aircraft surfaces prior to departure
- Aborted takeoff initiated halfway down the runway
- Collision with a vehicle on the airport surface