Accident Summary
The airplane settled back to the ground during the takeoff initial climb and collided with bushes and desert terrain off the end of the runway. The right wing and the aft carry-through spars were bent.
Pilot Actions
The pilot held the brakes and applied full throttle. As the rpm reached 2,600, the engine sounded normal, the brakes were released, and the takeoff roll began. During the ground roll, a significantly greater distance was required to develop airspeed than the pilot expected; however, he attributed this to the airport elevation and outside air temperature. The POH performance charts indicated a ground roll of 2,100 feet to achieve takeoff over a 50-foot obstacle. The airplane reached 65 knots approximately two-thirds down the 5,929-foot runway. The pilot applied slight elevator back pressure, the airplane lifted off, and back pressure was eased to remain in ground effect. The airplane did not accelerate and instead settled back to the ground. It touched down just off the end of the runway and came to a stop approximately 20 feet from the airport perimeter fence.
Pre-Takeoff Procedures
The pilot completed his pre-takeoff checklist, made a traffic advisory, and positioned the airplane for takeoff. During run-up, he set the rpm at 1,800, leaned the mixture for an increase in rpm, then richened the mixture by one full turn, all in accordance with instructions given during his check-out in the rental airplane by a flight instructor. The day prior to the accident, following the check-out flight, he asked the CFI about proper leaning procedures. The CFI told him to lean the mixture at run-up (1,800 rpm) using engine rpm, then richen it one full turn at field elevations below 5,000 feet msl, and to lean at full power using the exhaust gas temperature gauge at elevations above 5,000 feet msl. The POH states that the engine should be leaned at 2,600 rpm using the combined manifold and fuel flow indicator gauge. This gauge shows fuel flow in gallons per hour and is marked with a green arc indicating normal fuel flow operating parameters. The takeoff optimum fuel performance range is covered by green sectors; the high side of each green sector represents the appropriate fuel setting required to obtain maximum power when operating at full throttle and 2,600 rpm.
Post-Accident Testing
A Federal Aviation Administration inspector test-ran the engine following the accident and no operational anomalies were noted.