Piper PA-24 N5585P

Summary

On 7 October 2021 at about 12:54 local time, a Piper PA-24 registered N5585P was involved in an accident near Loveland, Colorado, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

7 October 2021 at 12:54

Classification

Accident

Location

Loveland, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Northern Colorado Rgnl (FNL)

Coordinates

40.4357, -105.0007

Aircraft

Piper PA-24

Registration

N5585P

Category

Airplane

Year built

1958

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fort Collins → Caspar

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN22LA010

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot’s failure to recognize the degraded engine power and 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 stated the airplane accelerated slowly during the takeoff roll and did not climb normally during the initial takeoff. The pilot reported the engine oversped and he heard a loud noise that came from the engine during the takeoff climb. A review of flight data showed the takeoff roll was about 1,300 ft longer than normal and immediately after takeoff, the airplane decelerated about 10 knots. The pilot executed a forced landing on a road and the airplane struck a pole, which substantially damaged the left wing. Postaccident examination revealed no evidence of a mechanical failure or malfunction that would have precluded normal operation. No reason for the reported overspeed or noise heard by the pilot was discovered during the postaccident examination. The pilot reported the engine “ran a little rough” when the carburetor heat lever was pulled out for a few seconds during the engine run-up. The weather conditions at the time of the accident were conducive to serious carburetor icing at cruise power. The pilot recalled setting the mixture lever “about a finger width” toward the lean position during the takeoff. The airplane’s extended takeoff roll and deceleration after liftoff were consistent with degraded engine power, which was most likely due to carburetor icing and/or a lean mixture setting. Following the accident, the pilot stated that he should have aborted the takeoff due to the airplane’s slow acceleration.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.