What happened
A pilot and 6 passengers were operating a charter flight under special VFR clearance when the aircraft failed to become airborne during departure from a private airstrip. The airstrip, located at an elevation of 80 feet mean sea level, consisted of a gravel runway measuring 2,400 feet in length with a magnetic heading of 110/290 degrees. At the time of the accident, the runway surface was covered in approximately 1-1/2 inches of slushy snow.
The pilot initially attempted to depart using runway 11 but aborted the takeoff attempt. A second attempt was made using runway 29. During this second roll, the pilot reported that when the aircraft was approximately halfway down the runway, the airspeed was roughly 5 knots below the required takeoff speed. Despite this, the pilot elected to continue the takeoff. However, the airspeed subsequently dropped further, causing the airplane to depart the end of the runway without ever achieving lift-off.
The aircraft sustained damage to the engine, the nose gear, and the firewall. The pilot reported winds from the southwest at 15 knots, while an official weather station located 3 miles from the site recorded winds from 160 degrees true at 11 knots.