Piper PA24 — Palatka, FL

What happened

The accident flight was the private pilot's second solo flight in the accident airplane, which he had purchased and had first flown 13 days before the accident. A witness standing near the departure end of the runway stated that the pilot held the airplane's brakes while advancing the engine to full power, and he believed that the pilot was going to perform a short-field takeoff. As the airplane accelerated down the runway, the nosewheel lifted off then touched down again before the airplane rotated off the runway and began to climb. The witness further stated that he thought that the pilot had rotated the airplane "early," as the airplane appeared slow. The airplane's angle of climb continued to increase until, about 150 ft above ground level, the airplane entered an aerodynamic stall and spiraled to the ground.

Examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or abnormalities that would have precluded normal operation. Between the time of purchase and the accident flight, the pilot logged about 15 hours of flight instruction in the airplane; logbook remarks indicated that, during those flights, the pilot had received instruction in normal and crosswind takeoffs and landings. Autopsy and toxicology testing of the pilot identified no evidence of physiological impairment or incapacitation. The lack of mechanical anomalies, the witness statement, and the surveillance video footage are consistent with the pilot's exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack during the initial climb after takeoff, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and a subsequent loss of control.

An editorial "what led to it / how to avoid it" analysis for this accident is generated separately and will appear here.