Accident
On July 4, 2016, at about 1400 central daylight time, a Bellanca 7ECA airplane, registration N87083, was substantially damaged during an aborted takeoff and subsequent runway excursion at Barham Airport (01LA) in Oak Ridge, Louisiana. The private pilot, who was the sole occupant, was not injured. The airplane was owned by Flying Tigers Aviation and operated by a private individual under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The flight originated at Vicksburg Municipal Airport (VKS), Mississippi, around 1330, with a destination of Morehouse Memorial Airport (BQP) in Bastrop, Louisiana.
Pilot Actions
During the cross-country flight, the pilot landed on the turf runway at 01LA. He described the landing as fine and then repositioned the airplane for departure to the west on runway 27, a 2,000-foot by 60-foot turf strip. The pilot reported that when the airplane was about three-quarters of the way down the runway, he determined it was not at the appropriate speed and decided to abort the takeoff. Upon applying brakes and full aft elevator and control stick input, the airplane ballooned. After it settled back down, he was unable to stop before overrunning the end of the runway. The airplane struck a ditch beyond the runway end, bounced, hit a second ditch, and nosed over, coming to rest inverted in the second ditch. The left wing separated, and the fuselage and empennage sustained substantial damage. The pilot stated there were no mechanical anomalies with the airplane at the time of the accident.
Weather Information
Weather recorded at 1415 at BQP, located 9 miles northwest of 01LA, included wind from 200 degrees at 8 knots, temperature 81°F, dew point 75°F, and altimeter setting 29.98 inches of mercury. Density altitude was calculated as 1,512 feet.