General aviation pilot reported a near miss on takeoff from a non-towered airport. The pilot maneuvered away from the other aircraft that departed on the same runway opposite direction; then continued the flight.

Date: 2023-12 · Aircraft: Small Aircraft; Low Wing; 1 Eng; Fixed Gear · Phase: takeoff

Anomalies: conflict-ground-conflict|critical|conflict-nmac|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-published-material-policy

Synopsis

General aviation pilot reported a near miss on takeoff from a non-towered airport. The pilot maneuvered away from the other aircraft that departed on the same runway opposite direction; then continued the flight.

Narrative

I was the pilot in command of Aircraft X; setting out for a flight from PGV on Day 0. The weather was clear with high clouds; VFR conditions throughout the region. Wind was calm on the AWOS. While conducting preflight there was minimal traffic on the ramp. Upon powering up the aircraft and turning on the com radio; I heard an aircraft announce on CTAF they were taxiing to Runway 20. My aircraft was facing with it's nose away from the runway at it's ramp. As I conducted startup and checklist items in the aircraft I heard the aircraft that was taxiing to Runway 20 announce it's crossing of the intersecting runway. No other aircraft had self announced on CTAF at this time. Knowing the time it would take me to perform runup; I anticipated the aircraft would have ample time to depart runway 20 and planned a taxi to runway 2 as the distance was shorter and aimed me in my direction of flight. Right before initiating my taxi I heard an aircraft announce they had departed runway 20; were climbing though 1000 ft. on the upwind and departing the area. I performed a taxi to runway 2; during this time there was much radio traffic for several other airports that share our CTAF frequency. I heard an inbound aircraft to our field announce positions as he crossed the field and made a teardrop for the left downwind for runway 2. Two other aircraft announced their taxi from the ramp to runway 2 to line up behind me.Hearing no other traffic than the pattern traffic on a downwind and the two aircraft taxiing behind me; I spotted the landing traffic on downwind; scanned the runway from the hold short line; saw no other traffic present and announced my departure. I rolled slowly around the 90 degree turn from the hold short line to the displaced threshold; heard no further traffic; saw no hazards and applied takeoff throttle.As I rotated I saw another low wing aircraft rotating and veering to the R; having departed runway 20. I dropped my nose down and kept the aircraft in ground effect as I prepared to either abort or takeoff depending on actions of the other aircraft. The other aircraft continued climb and departed the area; but radioed on CTAF asking if the landing traffic had announced their position. Assuming they were referring to me; I replied affirmative that I had announced my departure. Reflecting on the event; I feel that I had painted a picture of the traffic on the field as I prepared the aircraft for departure. I believed I had accounted for the location of all aircraft who had announced on CTAF - traffic departed runway 20 was clear of the field; inbound aircraft was on a downwind; and two other aircraft were behind me on taxiway A. I did not have any knowledge of another aircraft in the vicinity. It is possible though that with the very frequent traffic for other fields overlapping on our frequency that I could have missed a transmission from the aircraft I encountered. It's also possible that they were stepped on. Also contributing is the nature of an uncontrolled field on a calm day relying on pilot consensus for runway use. In this case; 4 aircraft were utilizing or going to use runway 2. It is also possible that my departure announcement was masked by another transmission; but less likely that my taxi announcement; hold short and departure announcements were all unheard; as my radio check was performed and my transmissions with ATC during the flight were unhindered.While nobody was injured and there was no damage; this event highlights the hazards of uncontrolled field operations and the importance of all pilots complying with proper radio announcements and protocol. In the future I will be certain to monitor CTAF for an extended period of time for callouts of ground position and intent to depart. I may consider writing down aircraft so that I can better keep track of the 4-5 aircraft routinely in motion at our uncontrolled field. I will also continue to work with my local pilots to advocate for a unique or different CTAF frequency for our field as the frequent radio announcements make it challenging and potentially hazardous when managing calm-wind uncontrolled field operations.

Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.