Incident Details
The pilot reported that two private airports were in close proximity to each other, and he mistakenly landed at the wrong airport. After landing, he referenced the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) chart supplement and visual flight rules (VFR) sectional chart, observing a published runway length of 2,600 ft for departure. He also consulted the pilot's operating handbook (POH) and noted that the calculated takeoff distance was 1,350 ft.
Aborted Takeoff
During the takeoff roll, with approximately half of the runway remaining, the pilot decided to abort the takeoff because the airplane had not reached the speed he expected. When he applied the brakes, the airplane pulled "slightly" to the left of the runway centerline. The left wing struck two fence posts along the runway, which pulled the airplane off the runway surface to the left into a ditch and a barbed wire fence. As a result, the left wing sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
Runway Dimensions and Performance Evaluation
The FAA Aeronautical Information Services Office was asked by the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge to evaluate the published runway dimensions at the accident airport. Upon review, the FAA determined that the runway dimensions should have been 2,483 ft x 25 ft, rather than the published 2,600 ft x 25 ft. The FAA submitted the revised dimensions to the National Flight Data Center for publication.
According to takeoff performance calculations using the FAA Koch Chart, the airplane would have likely experienced a 60% increase to the normal takeoff distance. When this increase was factored in with the airplane's POH takeoff distance chart, the ground roll required was about 1,808 ft, and the total distance required to clear a 50 ft obstacle was 3,128 ft. Numerous trees were located at the end of the runway. The distance required to clear the 50 ft obstacle exceeded both the published runway length and the revised runway length.