Accident Overview
On August 1, 2020, at approximately 0750 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-32RT-300T, registration N3025L, sustained substantial damage during a takeoff accident at Cherry Ridge Airport (N30) in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. The pilot and four passengers were not injured. The flight was conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight.
Pilot Account
According to the pilot, the intended route was from Cherry Ridge Airport to Ocean City Municipal Airport (OXB) in Ocean City, Maryland. Before takeoff from runway 36, he verified that the electric fuel boost pump was on, and the mixture and propeller controls were full forward. He applied full throttle while holding the brakes, then released the brakes and began the takeoff roll. The pilot noted the airplane veering to the left, which did not correct with right rudder input. The veering worsened as speed increased. About halfway down the runway, at 70 to 71 knots (below rotation speed), the airplane neared the left edge. The pilot pulled back on the control wheel in an attempt to become airborne. The airplane may have lifted slightly but did not rotate. He felt the tail "bump" and then the airplane departed the left side of the runway. It came to rest in grass with the nose landing gear collapsed.
Security Camera Evidence
Review of security camera footage showed the pilot back taxiing to the runway end before takeoff. During the takeoff roll, the airplane initially tracked the runway heading. The pitch attitude then increased until a tail strike occurred approximately 1,660 feet from the start of the takeoff roll. The nose pitched down rapidly, the nose landing gear collapsed, and the airplane veered left, struck vegetation and terrain, and came to rest in a nose-low attitude.
Wreckage and Performance Factors
An FAA inspector examined the wreckage and found no evidence of preimpact failures or malfunctions.
According to the FAA Digital Chart Supplement for N30, the field elevation is 1,357 feet above mean sea level. Runway 36 is 2,986 feet long with a 0.6% uphill gradient and has trees off the departure end.
The pilot's weight and balance loading form, submitted on September 8, 2020, showed a takeoff weight of 3,472.7 pounds, which was 127.3 pounds below the maximum gross weight.
The pilot's performance planning indicated a calculated density altitude of 1,227 feet and an estimated takeoff ground roll of 1,500 to 1,600 feet.
Weather data from Pocono Mountains Municipal Airport (MPO), about 24 nautical miles from N30, reported a temperature of 22°C at the time of the accident. Using that temperature, the density altitude at N30 was calculated to be 2,622 feet. According to the airplane's performance charts, with no wind, at a density altitude of 2,622 feet and a weight of 3,472.7 pounds, the takeoff ground roll would be about 1,630 feet.
A Koch chart for the accident conditions indicated a 28% increase in takeoff distance and a 21% decrease in rate of climb compared to standard temperature sea level values. Under these conditions, the 2,986-foot runway would be equivalent to a standard temperature sea level runway length of about 2,330 feet.