Two injured after plane stalls on takeoff

The pilot reported that he and the passenger conducted several touch-and-go landings at the airport in Hana, Hawaii, before departing for their destination.

During the accident takeoff, the Flight Design CTLS performed normally until about 75 feet above ground level, when the pilot noted that the airplane had “no power to climb” and was “sinking.”

The plane descended into trees and hit the ground in a nearvertical attitude just past the departure end of the runway, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage and wings.

The pilot sustained serious injuries, while the pilot-rated passenger sustained minor injuries in the crash.

Two pilot-rated witnesses reported that they heard no unusual sounds.

The witnesses noticed that the airplane had an “unusually high” nose-up attitude during takeoff.

The pilot-rated passenger reported that the pilot pitched the airplane “higher than he needed” and “held the high pitch attitude” until the airplane descended into the trees.

A Dynon EMS-D120 engine monitoring system was removed from the airplane and sent for data download at the NTSB Recorders Laboratory. The flight data indicated that, about 40 seconds before impact, the engine RPM increased from idle to maximum RPM and maintained maximum engine RPM to the end of recording.

Probable Cause: The pilot’s exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack during the initial climb, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and subsequent impact with terrain.

NTSB Identification: 104533

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This January 2022 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.