AP International Corporation

Cessna 401

The pilot aborted the takeoff run after the airspeed indication rose to about 80 miles per hour, but would not go any higher. He could not stop the airplane, before it went off the end of the runway, over a berm, and into a drainage ravine. When the airplane was pulled out of the ravine, both pitot covers were still in place, around the pitot tubes. The runway was 4,553 feet long, calculated takeoff distance was about 2,525 feet, and calculated accelerate-stop distance was approximately 2,950 feet. Tire skid marks started around 3,600 feet from the approach end of the runway, and led to the wreckage. About a year earlier, another airplane was destroyed when it ran into the same ravine, which was located about 200 feet from the end of the runway.