Piper PA28 N6266J

Summary

On 27 September 2008 at about 19:30 local time, a Piper PA28 registered N6266J, operated by Dihl J. Grohs, was involved in an accident near Gann Valley, South Dakota, United States. 3 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

27 September 2008 at 19:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Gann Valley, South Dakota, United States

Nearest airport

Private Airstrip (PVT)

Coordinates

44.0336, -98.9864

Aircraft

Piper PA28

Registration

N6266J

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Dihl J. Grohs

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Gann Valley → Gann Valley

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI08CA296

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inability to gain sufficient altitude during takeoff as a result of inadequate preflight planning.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot agreed to take the non-pilot rated aircraft owner and a passenger on a local flight. The pilot reported that during takeoff, he was not able to gain sufficient altitude to clear a fence off the departure end of the runway. The landing gear contacted the fence and the airplane continued forward until it contacted an embankment. The pilot stated he was not familiar with this particular airplane and airport, and that he should have had a greater safety margin on which to base his midfield go/no-go decision.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.