Aug. 4, Davis, Calif. / Piper Twin Comanche

At about 09:00 Pacific time, a Piper PA-30 went off the runway during a takeoff from Yolo County Airport and struck a runway light. No one was injured. The CFI said he and his student had completed simulated single-engine approaches at altitude and this was the first attempt near the ground. The right engines throttle was retarded and the landing and touchdown were uneventful. Power was added to do a touch-and-go. During the takeoff phase the instructor again retarded the right throttle to simulate an engine failure on takeoff. The airplane veered off the right side of the runway, bounced twice, then veered to the left side of the runway and contacted a runway light with the right wing. The CFI added power and the airplane became airborne. The pilots were unaware they collided with anything and stayed in the landing pattern and made a normal landing. During the rollout they saw debris on the runway. They stopped, shut down the engines and investigated. They noticed the damaged wing, determined that the debris came from their airplane, placed wing tip pieces in the airplane, then returned to their home base.