| Crash location | 41.207222°N, 85.003333°W
Reported location is a long distance from the NTSB's reported nearest city. This often means that the location has a typo, or is incorrect. |
| Nearest city | Auburn, IN
41.366994°N, 85.058858°W 11.4 miles away |
| Tail number | N4543R |
|---|---|
| Accident date | 08 Jun 2017 |
| Aircraft type | Piper Pa 28 |
| Additional details: | None |
The pilot in the airplane reported that he attempted to take off from his turf airstrip. He attempted to force the airplane into the air and after a brief ascent the airplane descended to the ground and touched down hard. The pilot continued to the previous sequence until he determined that he would not be able to clear the trees at the end of the runway. He made a left turn, and the airplane traveled through a bean field, a hay field, and hit a ditch and collided with a barn. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings.Per the National Transportation Safety Board Pilot Aircraft Accident Report, the pilot reported that the accident could have been prevented, if he had aborted the takeoff after the first bounce the accident never would have happened.
The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
The pilot’s decision to continue to attempt to take off despite the airplane’s inability to attain a positive climb rate, which resulted in little runway remaining, and his subsequent decision to turn off the runway, which resulted in a collision with a barn.