Piper PA22 N7833D

Summary

On 14 July 2019 at about 11:59 local time, a Piper PA22 registered N7833D was involved in an accident near Hastings, Florida, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

14 July 2019 at 11:59

Classification

Accident

Location

Hastings, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Earle Airpark (13FA)

Coordinates

29.6933, -81.5069

Aircraft

Piper PA22

Registration

N7833D

Category

Airplane

Year built

1957

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA19LA227

2 people were seriously injured.

The pilot’s failure to secure the engine primer control, which resulted in an overly rich fuel/air mixture and degraded engine performance. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s failure to abort the takeoff in a timely manner.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, during takeoff, the airplane did not accelerate to rotation speed within its normal takeoff roll distance, but he continued the takeoff and the airplane lifted off near the end of the runway. Just after liftoff, the landing gear impacted vegetation at the end of the runway. The pilot believed the airplane was stalling and attempted to “get the airspeed up”; however, the airplane impacted a tree and then the ground, resulting in substantial damage. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the engine primer was in the unlocked position, and the spark plugs were black and sooty. The unlocked primer, which fed fuel to all four cylinders, likely resulted in an overly rich fuel mixture. The pilot recalled that, at the time of liftoff, the engine speed was 2,400 rpm. According to the owner’s manual, the maximum engine speed was 2,700 rpm. It is likely that the excessively rich fuel mixture prevented the engine from reaching full power during the takeoff roll and resulted in the increased takeoff distance and poor climb performance. Additionally, the wheel bearings on all three landing gear were found to have excessive side play. This may have resulted in additional drag during the takeoff roll, which if present, would have further decreased the takeoff performance. The extent to which this may have contributed to the accident could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.