Accident Overview
On September 2, 2017, about 1810 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-28-181, registration N132AV, was substantially damaged during a collision with terrain during takeoff from Caledonia County Airport (CDA), Lyndonville, Vermont. The private pilot and two passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
Pilot Actions and Aircraft Preparation
The pilot reported performing a preflight inspection of the airplane in front of five intended passengers, noting no anomalies. He demonstrated the corresponding movements between the flight controls and flight control surfaces. The pilot then completed a 20-minute flight with two passengers and returned to CDA. A friend volunteered to fly the fifth passenger in his own airplane while the pilot flew with the third and fourth passengers. The pilot cautioned his friend about density altitude and that his airplane needed more time to build speed during the takeoff roll.
After taxi, the pilot positioned the airplane on the runway for departure and performed a flight control deflection check. He observed corresponding movement with the control surfaces but noted light resistance in the controls. Concerned, he repeated the check eight times before initiating takeoff.
Takeoff and Loss of Control
The pilot stated that after rotation, the airplane was unresponsive or slow to respond in the roll axis when aileron corrections were applied. He elected to close the throttle and perform a forced landing to the grass area beyond the departure end of the runway. The landing resulted in substantial damage to the wings, cabin, empennage, and tail section.
Pilot and Aircraft Information
The pilot held a private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single-engine land and reported 310 total hours of flight experience, of which 305 hours were in the accident airplane make and model.
The airplane, manufactured in 1984, had accrued approximately 4,287.8 total aircraft hours. Its most recent annual inspection was completed June 8, 2017. The maximum allowable gross weight was 2,550 pounds; the estimated weight during the accident takeoff was 2,428 pounds.
Weather Conditions
At 1855, the weather recorded at CDA included clear skies and calm wind. The temperature was 18°C, dew point 6°C, altimeter setting 30.19 inches of mercury. The calculated density altitude was 1,525 feet.
Wreckage and Examination
The wreckage was examined at the site by an FAA inspector and a Vermont Agency of Transportation operations manager. The airplane came to rest upright about 700 ft beyond the departure end of runway 20 and about 250 ft left of the runway centerline. Flight control continuity was established from the individual flight controls to all flight control surfaces except the left aileron. The aileron was significantly impact damaged, and its control rod was fractured. The corresponding fractured control-rod piece inside the wing was observed to move with control yoke inputs. Each half of the fractured control rod was examined at the NTSB Materials Laboratory. According to an NTSB senior materials engineer, examination revealed all fracture features were consistent with ductile overstress fracture under bending loads, with no evidence of a preexisting crack.
Density Altitude Considerations
The source includes excerpts from FAA Pamphlet FAA-P-8740-2 regarding density altitude effects: reduced air density adversely affects aerodynamic performance and decreases engine horsepower, increasing takeoff distance, reducing rate of climb, increasing true airspeed on approach, and increasing landing roll distance. Also included are excerpts from AC-61-23C about torque effects requiring right rudder, and from the Airplane Flying Handbook about decreased control effectiveness at low airspeed.