Cheetah; Tiger; Traveler AA5 Series
Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Private
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 14; Flight Crew Total 148; Flight Crew Type 13
Situational Awareness
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General None Reported / Taken
Human Factors
I was doing a flight to maintain currency in a single engine aircraft and gain more experience in the AA5B. My intention was to do a few patterns solo. I did a preflight inspection on the aircraft in the hangar. I noted that the tow bar was installed and removed it but then replaced it after realizing I would need it to pull the aircraft out of the hangar. I then completed the pre-flight inspection; opened the hangar and pulled the aircraft out. I closed and secured the hangar door and went back out to the aircraft. I forgot that the tow bar was still attached. I did a normal engine start; taxied to the runup area; and completed all takeoff checklist items. There was nothing abnormal about the taxi or runup. I held short of the runway; scanned for traffic in all directions and made a call to verify that base and final were clear. I then announced takeoff on runway 22; taxied onto the runway and began to take off. Takeoff was normal until after I rotated. As the aircraft lifted away from the runway; there was a small bump and a faint noise that seemed like an imperfection on the runway. A Piper Malibu departed behind me about a minute later and noted that there was a foreign object on the side of the runway that possibly looked like part of an aircraft and reported it to the FBO on UNICOM/CTAF frequency. Given that I did not see any FOD on my takeoff and had felt a bump on a near perfectly surfaced runway; I suspected something had happened to my aircraft. I circled the airport a few times in the pattern at 1;000 AGL as the FBO checked the FOD and determined that it was a tow bar. I immediately realized that I forgot to remove the tow bar. I then requested the Line worker of the FBO to visually check my aircraft for damage while I did a low approach over the runway. They said there was no apparent damage to my aircraft.I made left traffic and landed and taxied in without further incident. Other than the tow bar being bent; I could not find any damage to the aircraft itself. This incident would have been prevented if: 1) I had done the pre-flight inspection on the ramp instead of the hangar and 2) If I had done a final quick 'walk-around' the aircraft just prior to climbing in. It is critical that I (and all other pilots) be thorough in their pre-flight procedures and always do a quick visual check of the aircraft before climbing in (even if a pre-flight inspection was completed).
AA5B pilot reported inadvertently taking off with the tow bar still attached.