Piper PA-28-140 N1721T

Summary

On 30 October 2009 at about 02:31 local time, a Piper PA-28-140 registered N1721T, operated by Lee Mize, was involved in an accident near Angwin, California, United States. 2 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

30 October 2009 at 02:31

Classification

Accident

Location

Angwin, California, United States

Nearest airport

Angwin-Parrett Field Airport (2O3)

Coordinates

38.5800, -122.4353

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-140

Registration

N1721T

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Lee Mize

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Angwin → Auburn

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

WPR10CA035

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to properly identify the runway surface for takeoff and his subsequent failure to abort the takeoff when he realized he was not on the runway. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s failure to select the appropriate radio frequency to activate the runway lights.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he positioned the airplane for the night takeoff approximately 1/4-mile from the start of Runway 34. He attempted to activate the runway lights using the radio; however, he had selected an incorrect frequency. He used his landing light and positioned the airplane where he believed the runway was located. As the airplane approached 65 miles per hour, he saw grass and dirt. His passenger requested that he stop the airplane; however, the pilot felt that his options were better if he continued the takeoff. The passenger continued to request that he stop the airplane and the groundspeed was about 80 miles per hour. The pilot further reported that the passenger’s seat was positioned further back than his and that the passenger was pulling the yoke aft and her feet were pushing on the rudder pedals. The airplane then impacted a fence. Later activation of the airport lighting system revealed no operational anomalies when the correct radio frequency was selected.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.