Narrative:

A group of 9 aircraft were planning a fly-out lunch from spruce creek airport to tangerine airport. The organizer of the group invited me to join them and fly in their formation. He held a good briefing prior the flight. I was to fly in small aircraft X on the wing of a vintage small aircraft Y with the formation. We were #7 and #8 with one aircraft behind us. The two aircraft in front of us broke ground and the small aircraft Y started his roll with me behind him to his left. I planned to leave my gear down and use partial flaps to keep my speed down. After lift off I joined his left wing. About this time I heard on the radio that someone in front of us had aborted and the two aircraft in front of us slowed rapidly. The small aircraft Y had to come over toward me and I decided to leave the formation to the left. As soon as I cleared the small aircraft Y directly in front of me, I went to full power, retracted the gear, and started a climb out. The problem was there was a group of people standing on the left side of the runway and I was forced to fly over them at an altitude of approximately 100' and approximately 50-60' left of the runway edge. At no time was my aircraft X out of control and the flight continued on normally after that. After I returned, I found that some of the people standing beside the runway were very upset as they weren't sure what was happening. Note: during the briefing I was led to believe by the organizer that those in the groups had all flown formation previously with him and I assumed they were qualified. I later found that only two others in the group were formation qualified.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: NINE ACFT INTENDING FORMATION FLT ATTEMPT CLOSE INTERVAL TKOF WHICH QUICKLY BREAKS UP DUE PERFORMANCE DIFFERENTIAL SPEED RESULTING IN NMAC BETWEEN #7 AND #8.

Narrative: A GROUP OF 9 ACFT WERE PLANNING A FLY-OUT LUNCH FROM SPRUCE CREEK ARPT TO TANGERINE ARPT. THE ORGANIZER OF THE GROUP INVITED ME TO JOIN THEM AND FLY IN THEIR FORMATION. HE HELD A GOOD BRIEFING PRIOR THE FLT. I WAS TO FLY IN SMA X ON THE WING OF A VINTAGE SMA Y WITH THE FORMATION. WE WERE #7 AND #8 WITH ONE ACFT BEHIND US. THE TWO ACFT IN FRONT OF US BROKE GND AND THE SMA Y STARTED HIS ROLL WITH ME BEHIND HIM TO HIS L. I PLANNED TO LEAVE MY GEAR DOWN AND USE PARTIAL FLAPS TO KEEP MY SPD DOWN. AFTER LIFT OFF I JOINED HIS L WING. ABOUT THIS TIME I HEARD ON THE RADIO THAT SOMEONE IN FRONT OF US HAD ABORTED AND THE TWO ACFT IN FRONT OF US SLOWED RAPIDLY. THE SMA Y HAD TO COME OVER TOWARD ME AND I DECIDED TO LEAVE THE FORMATION TO THE L. AS SOON AS I CLRED THE SMA Y DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF ME, I WENT TO FULL PWR, RETRACTED THE GEAR, AND STARTED A CLB OUT. THE PROB WAS THERE WAS A GROUP OF PEOPLE STANDING ON THE L SIDE OF THE RWY AND I WAS FORCED TO FLY OVER THEM AT AN ALT OF APPROX 100' AND APPROX 50-60' L OF THE RWY EDGE. AT NO TIME WAS MY ACFT X OUT OF CTL AND THE FLT CONTINUED ON NORMALLY AFTER THAT. AFTER I RETURNED, I FOUND THAT SOME OF THE PEOPLE STANDING BESIDE THE RWY WERE VERY UPSET AS THEY WEREN'T SURE WHAT WAS HAPPENING. NOTE: DURING THE BRIEFING I WAS LED TO BELIEVE BY THE ORGANIZER THAT THOSE IN THE GROUPS HAD ALL FLOWN FORMATION PREVIOUSLY WITH HIM AND I ASSUMED THEY WERE QUALIFIED. I LATER FOUND THAT ONLY TWO OTHERS IN THE GROUP WERE FORMATION QUALIFIED.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.