2011-06 · NASA ASRS report 956633
A Fractional Jet Captain reported that uneven pavement on GNT's Runway 13 caused his aircraft to oscillate up and down until V1/Vr when the nose was prematurely bounced into the air only to return prior to lift off.
When departing GNT on Runway 13; during the takeoff roll we accelerated down the runway and due to the condition of the runway the aircraft had a tendency to oscillate up and down; slow at first then increasing in intensity. At first it felt like any other runway that is not completely smooth and this aircraft model does a good job at absorbing the shocks of this kind of runway condition. As we passed 80 knots; the oscillations increased until at the point of V1 and VR; the aircraft literally bounced into the air off a runway mogul. The aircraft; since the airspeed was low; returned to the runway before immediately becoming airborne again. We continued the flight without further issues. As this incident wasn't noticeable until the point at which we were committed to fly (between V1 and VR); I believe we did the right thing in continuing the takeoff; even though it did bounce. It was hard to tell about the condition of the runway upon landing at GNT even though I did realize that the nose gear was hard to get on the ground (bouncing tendency) but I just thought that was due to me trying the get the nose on the ground quickly since I was concerned about getting the aircraft stopped in a short distance. It is my opinion that this airport should be evaluated for the condition of the runway as I believe that it is unsafe for our operations.
The Reporter recalled that GNT Runway 13 was a little longer than 7;000 FT and that particular flight's calculated takeoff distance was around 6;000 FT. At the start of the takeoff roll the runway felt bouncy but by the time the aircraft was approaching its takeoff point the bouncing was so bad they were fearful of aircraft damage. The one really bad jolt right near V1; approximately 5;500 FT; actually got the nose of the aircraft airborne but it was put back on the runway until Vr. The First Officer saw cracks in the runway even though both pilots thought that it had been recently resurfaced because of the dark black top coating. But in retrospect they are not certain what was done to the runway. The Reporter did not notice the landing was particularly rough but they decelerated rather rapidly and so did not see the runway in a high speed condition.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.
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