Flight Details
An instructor, a student pilot, and two passengers boarded the airplane for a flight. The departure was planned from a 1500-foot grass strip that had a 50-foot tree line at the departure end. The instructor decided to use this runway for takeoff.
Takeoff and Abort
The student pilot performed the takeoff. During the initial climb, the airplane did not climb out of ground effect. As the tree line approached rapidly, the instructor aborted the takeoff. However, during the aborted takeoff, the airplane collided with the ground.
Background Information
According to the airplane's Pilot Operating Handbook (POH), the minimum takeoff distance required to clear a 50-foot obstacle on a paved, level, dry runway is 1625 feet. The departure runway was a grass strip, which typically offers different performance characteristics than a paved surface.