History of the Flight
On 6 May 2000, a Piper PA-28-161 Cherokee Warrior II (serial number 28-7716119, registration C-GQHE) was being prepared for a local pleasure flight at Sydney Airport (Nova Scotia). The pilot contacted Atlantic Aviation Academy Inc. to rent the aircraft. An instructor removed the aircraft from the hangar, started the engine, performed a run-up with normal parameters, and refuelled to full tanks. When the pilot arrived with three passengers, he completed the rental paperwork, including weight and balance (take-off weight 2302 lb, 23 lb below maximum), inspected the aircraft, and boarded. The pilot taxied from the Academy ramp to runway 01, backtracking near the runway button, then turned onto the runway for departure. The taxi distance was approximately 7250 feet and took about six minutes. During taxi, the pilot unfastened his seat belt and shoulder harness to adjust his seat; they were not refastened.
Accident Sequence
Shortly after beginning the take-off roll, aircraft occupants and onlookers noted abnormally slow acceleration. The pilot forced the aircraft airborne near the departure end of the 6000-foot runway, becoming airborne about 500 feet from the departure end. The stall warning horn sounded shortly after take-off. The aircraft climbed to an estimated 50 to 100 feet before entering a steep right-wing-low attitude, then brief wings-level flight, then a steep nose-down left-wing-low attitude from which recovery was not achieved. The aircraft struck the ground at 1342 Atlantic daylight time, 2000 feet beyond the departure end and 125 feet right of the extended centreline.
Personnel Information
The pilot held a Transport Canada private pilot licence (issued 19 August 1999) and had a glider pilot licence since 1998. He received an aircraft-type check on the Cherokee Warrior on 2 October 1999, with subsequent rentals on 9 and 10 October 1999, and a recurrency check on 23 March 2000. He had not flown until the accident flight. Total flying time was 65.3 hours, with 2.9 hours on the Warrior.
Aircraft Information
The aircraft was maintained per regulations. The fuel was tested and found uncontaminated. The Pilot Operating Handbook (POH) indicates a required ground roll of 675 feet for a normal short-field take-off under existing conditions, assuming full power set before brake release. The pilot performed a rolling take-off (power set after roll start); no chart was available for that method. Pilots familiar with the aircraft estimated the ground roll from a rolling start should not exceed 2000 feet.
Meteorological Information
At 1300: wind 010° true at 16 knots, visibility 15 sm, few clouds at 3000 ft, temperature 4.8°C, dewpoint -1.8°C, altimeter 30.03. At 1400: wind 360° true at 17 knots, temperature 5.2°C, dewpoint -1.3°C, altimeter 30.04. The surface wind at take-off was 030° true at 16 knots. According to Transport Canada's A.I.P. Canada, the temperature and dewpoint were conducive to serious carburettor icing at any engine power setting.
Wreckage and Impact
The aircraft struck 40-foot trees in a nose-down left-wing-low attitude, travelled 75 feet through trees, then struck the ground nose-first. It spun 200° and moved backwards 15 feet, coming to rest heading 140° magnetic. The left wing separated; the right wing partially separated. The engine displaced upward and right. The cockpit and cabin remained largely intact with minor floor distortion. The carburettor heat control lever was found in the "on" position, but the butterfly valve in the carburettor heat box was in mid-travel range; impact likely pulled it from full on. The engine was later test-run with a loaned carburettor, producing full-rated power; the original carburettor showed no anomalies. Examination of the airspeed indicator and tachometer revealed no witness marks.
Survival Aspects
The three passengers, wearing seat belts and shoulder harnesses, exited unassisted and extracted the pilot. Emergency response arrived about eight minutes after the flight service station activated an autodialler. The pilot suffered multiple traumatic injuries, primarily to head and chest, consistent with unrestrained body contact. The aircraft's emergency locator transmitter activated on impact.
Other Findings
The source states: "The pilot was not wearing his available seat belt and shoulder harness; this contributed directly to the severity of the injuries he sustained."