Piper PA28 accident at Paray-Le-Monial aerodrome (F-GHRJ)

Accident Overview On 15 April 2013 at 15:15 local time, a Piper PA28 registered F-GHRJ, operated by a club, was destroyed in a collision with a ground obstacle during takeoff at Paray-Le-Monial aerodrome (71). The student pilot was slightly injured. ## Circumstances The instructor and student, accompanied by a passenger, departed Vichy aerodrome (03) for an instructional flight to extend the student's single-engine piston (SEP) qualification. They landed on grass runway 13 at Paray-Le-Monial and realigned for takeoff on runway 31. During the takeoff roll, shortly before reaching rotation speed, the crew experienced a slight loss of acceleration. The instructor took control, continued the takeoff, and turned the aircraft to the right to avoid a woodpile approximately 2 m high and 20 m long located in the runway's extended centerline. The aircraft crossed a ditch and a road, and the left wing struck the end of the woodpile. The wing was torn off, and the fuselage came to rest about 30 m further after rotating 180°. ## Operational Details The stop at Paray-Le-Monial was intended for short-field landing and takeoff practice. The runway appeared dry and in good condition. The selected configuration included two flap notches (25°), a power check on brakes, and a rotation speed of 50 kt, consistent with the flight manual's short-field takeoff procedure. The instructor reported normal acceleration until near rotation speed, with a speed decrease of 2–3 kt attributed to surface conditions and no engine power loss. He decided to continue because the remaining runway length was insufficient to stop before the obstacles (ditch, road, and woodpile). ## Crew and Conditions The student, a private pilot, had 390 hours since 1981, including 1 hour on type in the previous 90 days. The instructor, an airline pilot, had 18,900 hours since 1979, including 345 hours on type and 200 hours in the previous 90 days (25 on type), and had taught professional pilots for about ten years. Weather: variable wind 2 kt, visibility over 10 km, no significant clouds, temperature 21°C, QNH 1021 hPa. ## Technical and Environmental Factors Technical examinations of the wreckage found no malfunction contributing to the accident. Mass and centering were within manufacturer limits. The PA28 flight manual did not provide quantified grass-runway performance data, requiring pilot evaluation. The instructor applied a 15% corrective factor based on experience, estimating a 320 m takeoff roll and 15 m clearance at 580 m. Runway 31 was 600 m long, grass, with negligible slope. A reduced, slightly muddy, sticky area existed mid-runway. The woodpile was about 110 m beyond the runway end, outside the regulatory takeoff clearance zone. The VAC chart in force (26 July 2012) did not mention the obstacle or runway condition, and no NOTAM was in effect. A new VAC published 2 May 2013 reduced the usable takeoff distance on runway 31 to 570 m due to the road in the takeoff clearance zone. ## Findings Reduced takeoff performance on a muddy section disrupted the takeoff near rotation speed, when a rejected takeoff no longer seemed possible in the remaining distance. The estimated takeoff distances were below available distances but left little margin. The absence of quantified grass-runway performance data in the PA28 manual contributed to the collision. The instructor's reaction avoided a frontal collision with the woodpile.