Bonanza 35
Flight Crew Commercial; Flight Crew Instrument
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 30; Flight Crew Total 3000; Flight Crew Type 2000
Situational Awareness
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical; Inflight Event / Encounter Fuel Issue
Flight Crew Landed in Emergency Condition
Human Factors; Aircraft
Aircraft lost power immediately after takeoff. Aircraft performed normally during the run-up prior to takeoff. Airplane had just finished a small repair for running rough. Landed in a recreational complex immediately adjacent to the airport. Normal glide to landing. No damage and no injury. Towed the aircraft back to the airport for further inspection. Found debris in the main fuel drain screen and the screen to the injector body. Learnings: while we did maintenance for running rough we never found a smoking gun to indicate the issue. Suspected a vapor lock due [to] the heat of the day. After the Engine cooled down and run-up was normal we assumed we had determined the cause. On takeoff from the grass runway which was very rough terrain I could not hear the popping of the engine due to the bumping of the airplane as it accelerated down the runway. As soon as the wheels were up it was apparent that the engine was running rough and I could not maintain altitude and elected to land in the recreational field next to the airport. Conclusions (what I learned from this event). Make sure that the reasons for any aircraft performance issues is thoroughly discovered. And not to underestimate the terrain used when taking off after a repair/maintenance. I'm convinced had I used the paved runway (slight cross wind) I would have heard the engine running rough and aborted the takeoff. The grass runway was the longer runway and aligned into the wind.
Beechcraft Bonanza pilot reported an off-field landing due to loss of power on takeoff caused by debris in the fuel system.