Accident Details
A commercial certificated pilot was conducting a takeoff from runway 15 at an airport with a gravel surface runway measuring 3,000 feet in length and 60 feet in width. Approximately 1,800 feet into the takeoff run, at an indicated airspeed of about 65 knots, the pilot raised the nose for lift-off, but the airplane did not become airborne. The pilot subsequently aborted the takeoff and applied the brakes, but the airplane continued off the departure end of the runway and into an area of marshy tussock grass. The nose gear strut collapsed during the excursion, and the airplane came to rest about 75 feet beyond the runway end.
Pilot Observations
After exiting the airplane to call his company operations, the pilot noted that the wind was favoring runway 33. Upon returning to the airplane, he reported that the wind had shifted and was again favoring runway 15. The pilot stated that prior to takeoff, he had selected 10 degrees of flaps. Following the accident, he observed that the flaps were only deployed to about 3 or 4 degrees of travel, despite the flap indicator still showing a setting of 10 degrees. The pilot cycled the flap lever several times but was only able to achieve a 10-degree flap deployment by first moving the lever to the 20-degree setting before selecting 10 degrees.
Pilot Report
In his written report to the NTSB, the pilot noted that the airplane did not have any mechanical malfunction. In the safety recommendation portion of the report, he indicated that he could have visually verified the flap setting before takeoff.