Aircraft and Flight Details
The accident involved a Piper PA 46-350P, registration N3117J, manufactured in 2005. It was powered by a single Pratt and Whitney PT6A-35 engine. The private flight was crewed by one pilot, who held a Commercial Pilot's Licence and was 44 years old with 2,512 total flying hours, including 656 hours on type. Three passengers were on board. The flight departed from Kilkeel (Greencastle) Airfield, County Down, on 18 May 2025 at 1730 UTC, with the intended destination of Fairoaks Airport near London, where the aircraft was based.
Accident Narrative
Kilkeel Airfield has a single grass runway, which the airfield's website states is 750 m long and 5 m wide. The pilot reported that the grass on either side of the runway strip was very long. A dashed line marked the centreline, but there were no edge markings. The mown area widened approximately halfway along the runway to allow access for parking and refuelling.
The pilot began the takeoff run on Runway 19, with the aircraft performing as expected. He commenced rotation just before the start of the wider mown area. During rotation, the pilot lost sight of the runway centreline, and the aircraft yawed slightly to the left. The aircraft had just become airborne when the strip narrowed again, causing the left main gear wheel to enter the long grass along the edge. This decelerated the aircraft and induced a rapid left yaw, with all three wheels contacting the ground again. Despite the pilot applying right rudder, the aircraft continued to yaw left and decelerated as it passed through the long grass. The pilot was unable to prevent the aircraft from hitting an adjacent hedge and earth bank, which broke off part of the wing and caused substantial damage to the fuselage. The passenger compartment remained intact, and the pilot and passengers exited unaided and uninjured through the main exit.
Pilot's Observations
The pilot commented that on rotation, the long nose of the aircraft obstructed his view forward, which coincided with the loss of peripheral guidance caused by the strip widening into the parking area. He noted that this made maintaining directional control increasingly challenging, especially in an aircraft that produced significant torque on takeoff. In hindsight, the pilot stated he should have rotated later to maintain better visual awareness of his position relative to the centreline. Although experienced at flying to grass runways, the pilot indicated he would restrict his future flying to those with wider cleared strips.