Narrative:

During the pre-flight inspection; no abnormalities were found and the passenger plus the pilot and copilot began to board the aircraft. After engine start up; we taxied to [the] runway as directed by ATC for an eastbound departure. As the plane approached the departure end of [the] runway; ground control advised the aircraft to hold short of the runway and monitor tower. After a brief wait; we were cleared for takeoff and proceeded with the take-off roll. At this time; the pilot monitoring (me) noticed that the indicated airspeed was very low compared to the ground speed at that time and struggling to rise as the aircraft sped up. Shortly after; the indicated airspeed dropped to 0; and that is when we decided to reject the takeoff.after the initial 'surprise' factor; we were instructed by ATC to turn left on taxiway hotel at which point we mistakenly read back as a 'right' turn instead. We quickly corrected ourselves as we turned left on that same taxiway. After completing the required checklists; ATC asked us to explain the reason for aborting the take-off; at which point I explained that I suspected a 'probe might be covered by something' without much further details. Soon after; ATC requested to taxi and contact ground for further instructions. As soon as we reached [the taxiway]; ground again asked the reason for the aborted take-off receiving the same answer as above. We then decided to request to move to a secluded area to shut down the left engine; so this way to be able to access the pitot tube in order to inspect it safely without causing a traffic disturbance; which was granted after moving further into the ramp area.after reaching our designated spot to do our checks; I stepped out the aircraft to check the pitot tube. Upon closer examination; I noticed there were very fine grains of sand and other materials like grass bits around and sticking out of the pitot tube's ram air intake. I then proceeded to remove everything I judged to be blocking the hole and climbed back into the airplane. At this point; we requested taxi to the active for take-off and after being questioned again about the motive of the aborted takeoff; the aircraft was cleared to taxi to [the runway] once again. The takeoff and flight occurred with no further complications safely landing a few minutes later.as we approached [the airport]; tower advised us that [tower] wanted to talk to us about what had happened after we landed. After copying the number down; we landed the aircraft and taxied to the hangar. On the phone; [tower] request further information on the aborted take-off and; apparently; had some problems hearing our call-sign on read-backs. We explained the situation and after some recommendations by [tower]; we ended the phone call.I believe this problem can be prevented by doing a more thorough preflight inspection; paying attention to smaller details. Thankfully nothing major happened and in my opinion the crew behaved the way it was trained to do. Also ATC played a big part in helping us solve our problem by facilitating our requests to relocate our aircraft.by using good judgment and CRM; I feel that situations like these can be avoided and corrected in a timely and safe manner.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A Piper Seneca instructor pilot reported a rejected takeoff due to an airspeed indication anomaly. An examination of the pitot tube revealed some contamination; which was cleared out; and a subsequent takeoff attempt was successful.

Narrative: During the pre-flight inspection; no abnormalities were found and the passenger plus the pilot and copilot began to board the aircraft. After engine start up; we taxied to [the] runway as directed by ATC for an eastbound departure. As the plane approached the departure end of [the] runway; ground control advised the aircraft to hold short of the runway and monitor tower. After a brief wait; we were cleared for takeoff and proceeded with the take-off roll. At this time; the Pilot Monitoring (me) noticed that the indicated airspeed was very low compared to the ground speed at that time and struggling to rise as the aircraft sped up. Shortly after; the indicated airspeed dropped to 0; and that is when we decided to reject the takeoff.After the initial 'surprise' factor; we were instructed by ATC to turn left on taxiway Hotel at which point we mistakenly read back as a 'right' turn instead. We quickly corrected ourselves as we turned left on that same taxiway. After completing the required checklists; ATC asked us to explain the reason for aborting the take-off; at which point I explained that I suspected a 'probe might be covered by something' without much further details. Soon after; ATC requested to taxi and contact ground for further instructions. As soon as we reached [the taxiway]; ground again asked the reason for the aborted take-off receiving the same answer as above. We then decided to request to move to a secluded area to shut down the left engine; so this way to be able to access the pitot tube in order to inspect it safely without causing a traffic disturbance; which was granted after moving further into the ramp area.After reaching our designated spot to do our checks; I stepped out the aircraft to check the pitot tube. Upon closer examination; I noticed there were very fine grains of sand and other materials like grass bits around and sticking out of the pitot tube's ram air intake. I then proceeded to remove everything I judged to be blocking the hole and climbed back into the airplane. At this point; we requested taxi to the active for take-off and after being questioned again about the motive of the aborted takeoff; the aircraft was cleared to taxi to [the runway] once again. The takeoff and flight occurred with no further complications safely landing a few minutes later.As we approached [the airport]; tower advised us that [Tower] wanted to talk to us about what had happened after we landed. After copying the number down; we landed the aircraft and taxied to the hangar. On the phone; [Tower] request further information on the aborted take-off and; apparently; had some problems hearing our call-sign on read-backs. We explained the situation and after some recommendations by [Tower]; we ended the phone call.I believe this problem can be prevented by doing a more thorough preflight inspection; paying attention to smaller details. Thankfully nothing major happened and in my opinion the crew behaved the way it was trained to do. Also ATC played a big part in helping us solve our problem by facilitating our requests to relocate our aircraft.By using good judgment and CRM; I feel that situations like these can be avoided and corrected in a timely and safe manner.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.