NTSB Factual Report

On December 24, 2001, at 0855 hours mountain standard time, a Piper PA-28RT-201, N3023K, failed to climb after takeoff on runway 21L and settled back onto a taxiway at Ernest A. Love Field, Prescott, Arizona. The private pilot and one passenger were not injured. The airplane was substantially damaged. The personal flight was operated by the owner under 14 CFR Part 91, and was destined for Sacramento, California. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The pilot had filed a visual flight rules flight plan; however, the flight plan had not yet been activated.

According to airport staff personnel who responded to the scene, "most of the wing surfaces" were covered with 1/8- to 3/8-inch of snow and ice.

In his report to the National Transportation Safety Board, the pilot reported that he spent 1.5 hours with a broom and a cloth removing snow and "most of [the] ice" from the fuselage and wings. After takeoff the airplane would not climb and, with insufficient runway remaining to abort the takeoff, he made a gear-up landing. The pilot reported there were no mechanical malfunctions and stated "I must assume I hadn't enough lift due to ice particles."

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's inadequate removal of snow and ice from the surfaces of the airplane before takeoff.