NTSB Factual Report

On May 9, 2001, at 1430 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 150H, N6614S, collided with a barb wire fence and trees on the departure end of the runway at a private airstrip in Maryville, Tennessee. The personal flight was conducted by the pilot under provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The airplane was substantially damaged. The private pilot received serious injuries. The flight departed from a grass strip in Maryville, Tennessee, at 1430.

According to pilot, he "departed in a westerly direction and the landing gear caught on a barbwire fence after liftoff causing the accident." The flight continued another 100 feet and the left wing struck a 30 foot tall tree. The airplane continued for another 100 feet and collided with the ground, hitting its right wing first. The nose struck the grass at a near vertical attitude, and then the left wing tip collided with the ground.

The density altitude was approximately 2000 feet,, and according to published takeoff performance data from a hard surface runway, the takeoff distance to clear a 50-foot obstacle is 1660 feet. The ground run for the takeoff is 910 feet. The pilot reported the runway length of the grass airstrip as 1100 feet. No mechanical problems with the airplane were noted during the examination of the airplane. A review of weather data disclosed conditions favorable for the formation of carburetor icing. The pilot did not report computing the takeoff distance from the grass strip using the Cessna 150H performance charts.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's inadequate preflight planning that resulted in the in-flight collision with a fence during an attempted takeoff from a grass strip.