What happened
The incident occurred during a training flight involving a touch-and-go maneuver. After the aircraft touched down on the runway, the pilot applied power to initiate the takeoff roll. During this phase of flight, the pilot reported losing directional control of the aircraft. As a result, the aircraft veered off its intended path and collided with a taxiway informational sign located at the edge of the runway safety area.
The collision caused substantial damage to the aircraft. The taxiway sign, which was supported by four-by-four wooden posts, sustained only minimal damage. Airport maintenance personnel had previously cross-drilled these supports to allow them to break away upon impact. However, in this instance, the supports failed to detach as designed, contributing to the extent of the aircraft damage.
The investigation
Investigation of the physical evidence confirmed that the directional control was lost during the acceleration phase of the takeoff following the touch-and-go landing. The structural integrity of the taxiway sign's support system was examined. Although the supports had been modified by airport maintenance to be frangible, they did not separate upon impact with the aircraft.
Findings
The primary factor in this accident was the pilot's loss of directional control during the takeoff roll. The failure of the taxiway sign supports to break away as intended resulted in greater damage to the aircraft than might have otherwise occurred. No injuries were reported.