Small Aircraft
Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Flight Instructor; Flight Crew Commercial
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 150; Flight Crew Total 950; Flight Crew Type 130
Situational Awareness
Conflict Ground Conflict; Less Severe; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural FAR
Flight Crew Took Evasive Action
Airport; Human Factors
I was at SOV; a 1;845 ft runway; and had just picked up two passengers. Winds were out of the south; so I planned to use runway 16 for takeoff. I taxied to runway 16 from the ramp and announced my back-taxi. I taxied to the end of the runway; turned around; and announced that I was taking off of runway 16. As I applied power and began accelerating; I saw an airplane taxi into takeoff position on runway 34 (opposite direction). There is a berm from the ramp area that obscures the runway from view; so I could not see him and he could not see me on the runway until we were both on it. I had accelerated to only about 20 knots; so I pulled the power off; got on the brakes; and came to a stop. I got on the radio and said something like 'I'm still here on runway 16.' The other pilot acknowledged and stated that he thought I had already taken off. We coordinated; and the other pilot taxied into the runway 34 safety area; and although that area is not technically part of the usable runway it is still in-line with the runway and essentially a continuation of the threshold; and even smooth enough to be usable area. I knew that I had the performance to take off well before I reached him; so I announced my takeoff again; and took off about halfway down the runway. Of course; I passed over the top of him; about 300 feet above him.In retrospect; I was a little flustered by the situation. I was angry that another airplane had been careless enough to taxi onto the runway (to do a downwind departure) even though I was making the appropriate radio calls. I was stressed because I was running slightly behind schedule; and I was incredibly embarrassed by the situation because my passengers were looking at me wondering why I had aborted a takeoff and why another airplane was on the runway. Looking back; I let those emotions get the best of me; and I elected to take off over another airplane that was in close proximity. Being the airplane carrying commercial passengers; I should have taxied forward to the ramp (about halfway down the runway); gotten off; and let that other plane depart rather than take off over them even though I was first in line for the runway. Too many things could have gone wrong with that other airplane in that safety area straight area of me down the runway; even though I had the performance to clear them. In the future I will remind myself to think first and not be so impulsive after such a situation.
GA pilot reported electing to takeoff over an aircraft at the other end of the runway after initially rejecting the takeoff because of the conflict.