Event ERA26LA021

Factual narrative

The pilot was attempting a short field takeoff on a wet turf runway that was 2,005-ft-long. The pilot reported that during the takeoff roll, the tailwheel-equipped airplane would not climb into ground effect and felt as if the one of the wheels was on the ground. Recognizing that the airplane would not be able to accelerate in ground effect, the pilot attempted to abort the takeoff. As the airplane approached a log barrier at the departure end of the runway, the pilot attempted to ground loop the airplane, but the left main landing gear wheel slid on the wet grass. The airplane subsequently impacted the log barrier at low speed, nosed over and came to rest inverted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing strut, vertical stabilizer, and horizontal stabilizer. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Based on the pilot’s description of the takeoff, it is likely that the wet runway condition reduced the airplane’s acceleration and resulted in the airplane not climbing into ground affect as otherwise expected during the takeoff from the relatively constrained turf runway. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

• — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot
• — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Runway/land/takeoff/taxi surface-Wet surface-Decision related to condition