A navion pilot reported rushing his preflight at night without a flashlight and missing unsecured co...

Narrative:

During takeoff; the engine cowling became unsecured and started flapping. I immediately reduced power to idle and attempted to land back on the runway. However; I maintained a nose high attitude which caused a very hard landing. The left wing tip struck the ground causing moderate damage to the wing. I believe the cowling latches were inadequately checked during the pre-flight inspection. A contributing factor was the fact it was nighttime and I could not see adequately. I should have used a flashlight during my preflight or postponed the flight until morning. Also; I had a mind-set at the time of being in a rush. This negatively impacted my judgment. During the engine run-up check I was unable to clearly hear the tower over the radio because the engine was much louder than normal. I failed to recognize the warning sign that something was not normal. In hindsight I can recognize an unwillingness to accurately and honestly assess the situation; commonly referred to as 'get there-itis.' to prevent a recurrence the most important step is adding the acronym 'I'm safe' to my aircraft checklist: 'illness medication sleep alcohol fatigue eaten'. I would like to add right for 'rushed?' I'm safer!

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A Navion pilot reported rushing his preflight at night without a flashlight and missing unsecured cowling latches. During takeoff the cowling came loose forcing an airborne rejected takeoff that resulted in a hard landing and aircraft damage.

Narrative: During takeoff; the engine cowling became unsecured and started flapping. I immediately reduced power to idle and attempted to land back on the runway. However; I maintained a nose high attitude which caused a very hard landing. The left wing tip struck the ground causing moderate damage to the wing. I believe the cowling latches were inadequately checked during the pre-flight inspection. A contributing factor was the fact it was nighttime and I could not see adequately. I should have used a flashlight during my preflight or postponed the flight until morning. Also; I had a mind-set at the time of being in a rush. This negatively impacted my judgment. During the engine run-up check I was unable to clearly hear the Tower over the radio because the engine was much louder than normal. I failed to recognize the warning sign that something was not normal. In hindsight I can recognize an unwillingness to accurately and honestly assess the situation; commonly referred to as 'Get there-itis.' To prevent a recurrence the most important step is adding the acronym 'I'M SAFE' to my aircraft checklist: 'Illness Medication Sleep Alcohol Fatigue Eaten'. I would like to add R for 'Rushed?' I'm SAFER!

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.

Attributes
ACN	859322
Time
Date	200911
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Any Unknown or Unlisted Aircraft Manufacturer
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Takeoff
Route In Use	Direct
Component
Aircraft Component	Cowling
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Private
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 45 Flight Crew Total 290 Flight Crew Type 50
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Ground Event / Encounter Ground Strike - Aircraft

A navion pilot reported rushing his preflight at night without a flashlight and missing unsecured cowling latches. During takeoff the cowling came loose forcing an airborne rejected takeoff that resulted in a hard landing and aircraft damage.