2007 Procaer F15 A Picchio aborted takeoff at Castiadas (I-)

Event overview and aircraft details On 25 August 2007 at 16:50 UTC, a Procaer F15 A Picchio with registration I-PICC was operating a private tourism flight at the Castiadas airfield (CA). The aircraft was a single-engine piston airplane built in 1959, with a mixed wood and metal structure, two seats, and a maximum takeoff mass of 999 kg. It was powered by a Lycoming O-320-B3A engine rated at 160 horsepower and fitted with a Hartzell HC-82XL-1D7636D-4 variable-pitch metal propeller. At the time of the event, the airframe had accumulated 1,620 hours 38 minutes, the engine 619 hours 31 minutes, and the propeller 12 hours 41 minutes since its last overhaul. The aircraft’s certificate of airworthiness was valid. ## Flight and personnel information The flight carried two people: the pilot and one passenger. The pilot was a 67-year-old Italian male holding a valid private pilot license for airplanes, with single-engine piston land ratings and English radiotelephony qualifications. He had 18,321 hours 39 minutes of total flight time, including 98 hours on the accident aircraft. His recent activity was entirely on that aircraft: 9 hours 23 minutes in the preceding 90 days, 5 hours 42 minutes in the preceding 30 days, and 1 hour 39 minutes in the preceding 7 days. His medical certificate was valid. The source notes that he had substantial experience, much of it as commander of commercial aircraft, and was familiar with the Castiadas airfield. ## Sequence of events During takeoff, immediately after liftoff, the pilot observed that the aircraft’s speed was not increasing as expected and decided to abort the maneuver. The aircraft subsequently contacted the runway, continued its ground run, and came to rest in a ditch beyond the threshold of runway 01. ## Damage and injuries There were no injuries to the people on board. The accident caused damage to a breakable runway edge marker, described as a “cinesino,” and substantial damage to the aircraft. ## Airfield and environmental factors The Castiadas airfield had a non-paved runway with a grassy surface that was very sparse during summer months. The runway orientation was 010°/190°. Measurements taken after the incident found the effective runway length between the outermost pairs of edge markers to be 626 m and the effective width to be 31 m, although the operator’s documentation had declared dimensions of 800 m by 25 m. The airfield was located in flat terrain about 3,500 m from the coast, near the S.S.125 Orientale Sarda road. The surrounding terrain included hills that affected wind patterns. A hill to the north, reaching up to 300 m in altitude, was about 1,800 m from the northern end of the runway, with its first slopes beginning about 800 m away. This terrain could create vortices and horizontal wind shear, particularly with winds from the north. The source explains that takeoffs on runway 01 could begin in steady headwind conditions and then enter a disturbed wind area, while takeoffs on runway 19 could begin in calm or variable conditions and then encounter stronger tailwind. These changes could cause abrupt variations in flight parameters and climb trajectories. ## Aircraft performance data The flight manual listed the following performance speeds at maximum mass: best liftoff speed 105–110 km/h (56.6–59.3 knots), flap retraction speed 130–140 km/h (70.1–75.5 knots), best climb speed 150–160 km/h (80.9–86.3 knots), and final approach speed 120 km/h (64.7 knots). The manual did not include an emergency aborted-takeoff procedure or specific circumstances for implementing one.