Incident
The pilot reported that during the takeoff roll, he glanced at the airspeed indicator and saw that it was still indicating zero although the airplane was accelerating. He stated that he closed the throttle and applied brakes. The airplane departed the end of the 1,550 feet long turf/gravel runway and went down an embankment.
Investigation
Post-accident examination of the airplane revealed that the pitot tube, which was located under the left wing, was missing. A search of the area including the taxi route of the airplane for departure and the accident site failed to locate the pitot tube.
Witness Account
A witness who observed the takeoff reported that at mid-field, the airplane appeared slower than normal, and he did not hear a power reduction until the airplane had used three-quarters of the available runway.