Takeoff & Initial Climb · NTSB CEN15FA267
BEECH A36 — Huggins, MO
| Date | June 12, 2015 |
| Location | Huggins, MO |
| Aircraft | BEECH A36 |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Initial climb Loss of control in flight |
| Pilot age | 43 |
| Pilot total time | Unknown |
| Time in type | Unknown |
| Fatalities | 4, 1 serious |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Airspeed-Not attained/maintained - C
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Angle of attack-Not attained/maintained - C
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
What happened
The private pilot was taking off from a 2,000-ft-long grass runway that had 70-ft tall trees at the south departure end with a clearing about 180 ft west of the runway centerline. A witness reported that he saw the airplane taxi to the north end of the runway and proceed to take off to the south. After takeoff, the airplane began a right turn to the west toward the opening in the tree line. The airplane then pitched up abruptly, rolled left, and dove into the ground.
Examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. GPS data for the flight corroborated the witness report. Additionally, the GPS-recorded speeds indicated that the airplane reached a maximum groundspeed of about 50 knots and that the groundspeed then decreased to 44 knots before impact. The airplane's weight could not be determined, and the airplane flight manual (AFM) did not include power-on stall speeds. However, based on the power-off stall speed information contained in the AFM, it is likely that the pilot failed to maintain adequate airspeed and exceeded the airplane's critical angle-of–attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and subsequent loss of control.