Incident Overview
On June 25, 2016, at approximately 1745 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-28-140, registration N9836W, was substantially damaged during a forced landing shortly after takeoff from North Perry Airport (HWO) in Hollywood, Florida. The private pilot on board sustained minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed for the local personal flight conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
Pilot's Preparation
According to a written statement provided by the pilot, several weeks before the accident, a family member noted that the airplane's right fuel tank cap was missing. The pilot ordered a new fuel cap, which was installed and remained in place until his return. On June 18, the pilot added 3 gallons of fuel to the right fuel tank, drained it, and then repeated this process several times. He then started the engine with the left fuel tank selected, and switched to the right fuel tank to perform an extended engine run-up and taxi check; he did not fly the airplane that day.
On the day of the accident, when the pilot arrived at HWO, he sampled both fuel tanks, performed a prolonged engine run-up, and taxied for about 30 to 45 minutes.
Accident Sequence
During the subsequent takeoff, when the airplane was about 80 to 100 feet above ground level (agl), the engine started to "tremble," and then lost all power. The airplane subsequently impacted terrain about 1,000 feet beyond the departure end of the runway.
Post-Accident Examination
A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector responded to the accident site and examined the wreckage. The airplane's nose and main landing gear were sheared off, and the left wing forward spar was separated at the wing root. One propeller blade was bent aft, while the other blade was not damaged. Fuel sampled from the firewall-mounted fuel strainer contained mostly water.
The airplane was equipped with a Lycoming O-320 series, 140-horsepower engine. It had been operated for about 333 hours since its most recent annual inspection, which was performed on September 19, 2015.
The pilot reported 262 hours of total flight experience, of which 98 hours were in the accident airplane make and model.