 |
37000 Feet | Browse and search NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System |
|
M20 pilot reports a lack of airspeed indication during takeoff on a short grass field. The takeoff is rejected with 600 feet remaining and the brakes are locked up; resulting in a runway excursion. A wasp in the pitot tube; was not detected during a rushed preflight which precipitated the chain of events.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1202949 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201409 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | M-20 B/C Ranger |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Takeoff |
| Route In Use | Direct |
| Flight Plan | None |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Airspeed Indicator |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Single Pilot |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Private Flight Crew Instrument |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 6 Flight Crew Total 1600 Flight Crew Type 1200 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Ground Event / Encounter Object Ground Excursion Runway Inflight Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control Inflight Event / Encounter Object |
Narrative:
A 5 knot tailwind takeoff on a slightly damp grass 1800 foot strip. Obstruction clearance is a factor and a slight tailwind is normally not a problem here. But this time; waiting for the airspeed to come alive and it never did. The ground speed seemed normal; but with 2/3 of the runway gone; I decided to abort. Not a common thing to do and being generally rusty; I managed to lock the brakes. Not hard since it was probably actually at takeoff speed. Not sure after that; but it got badly crossed up and slid sideways off the right side of the runway; into soybeans. Locked brakes are usually not a problem on grass; but they were this time. Damage to the main gear; but little else as soybeans are relatively soft. So far this is just a perhaps understandable lack of skill with a difficult maneuver. But it gets worse. With the tailwind component increasing; I was slightly rushed in departure preparations; so the preflight was abbreviated; something I (almost) never do. This time was the time that a wasp had plugged the pitot. The decision to abort the takeoff was reasonable. It should have been performed without damage and skill was lacking; but simple carelessness led to the end result.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: M20 pilot reports a lack of airspeed indication during takeoff on a short grass field. The takeoff is rejected with 600 feet remaining and the brakes are locked up; resulting in a runway excursion. A wasp in the pitot tube; was not detected during a rushed preflight which precipitated the chain of events.
Narrative: A 5 knot tailwind takeoff on a slightly damp grass 1800 foot strip. Obstruction clearance is a factor and a slight tailwind is normally not a problem here. But this time; waiting for the airspeed to come alive and it never did. The ground speed seemed normal; but with 2/3 of the runway gone; I decided to abort. Not a common thing to do and being generally rusty; I managed to lock the brakes. Not hard since it was probably actually at takeoff speed. Not sure after that; but it got badly crossed up and slid sideways off the right side of the runway; into soybeans. Locked brakes are usually not a problem on grass; but they were this time. Damage to the main gear; but little else as soybeans are relatively soft. So far this is just a perhaps understandable lack of skill with a difficult maneuver. But it gets worse. With the tailwind component increasing; I was slightly rushed in departure preparations; so the preflight was abbreviated; something I (almost) never do. This time was the time that a wasp had plugged the pitot. The decision to abort the takeoff was reasonable. It should have been performed without damage and skill was lacking; But simple carelessness led to the end result.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.