The private pilot told investigators that he did not perform weight and balance calculations prior to the flight in the Aero Commander 100, but did perform an engine run-up before departure with no issues noted.
During takeoff from the airport in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, he applied full power and rotated, initially climbing to between 20 and 30 feet above ground level. At that altitude the airplane stopped climbing and was not accelerating.
He reported that while airborne with 800 feet of runway remaining, the airplane “stalled” and hit the ground.
He reported to an FAA inspector that there wasn’t anything mechanically wrong with the airplane and that the engine was producing power during the entire event.
Post-accident examination of the airplane by an FAA inspector revealed that the left wing was substantially damaged. The inspector also noted evidence of binding of the left aileron, but that was attributed to the impact damage to the wing. There were no other issues noted with the flight controls.
Post-accident calculations revealed that for the accident flight the airplane was likely at least 24 pounds above the maximum specified gross weight of 2,250 pounds.
Although the pilot initially reported the altitude loss was associated with a wind shift, a review of weather data for the time and location of the accident revealed that there were no large fronts or boundaries in the area.
Further, there was no wind above 10 knots until above 10,000 feet mean sea level, there were no AIRMETS for turbulence, and the wind at multiple nearby airports did not exceed a velocity of about 8 knots.
Given all available information, it is most likely that the pilot exceeded the airplane’s critical angle-of-attack during the takeoff, which resulted in a stall/mush during the takeoff.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s exceedance of the critical angle of attack during takeoff and corresponding stall/mush. Contributing to the accident were the pilot’s operation of the airplane above the maximum specified gross weight.
To download the final report. Click here. This will trigger a PDF download to your device.
This October 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.
I doubt that being a minuscule amount heavy was the cause. After all we all have practiced stalls and not had damage if near max weight.
A heavy airplane will climb at a shallower angle but should still achieve POH figures. You need to be ready for that and comfortable with it and make sure that speed is not less than Vx. This should be sufficiently covered in training. Trying to make it climb at a steeper angle, if that’s what happened, by pulling back with speed decreasing below Vx is really just duplicating a power-on stall entry.
Stupid pilot tricks = we all pay higher insurance premiums.
Localized few seconds of wind gusts are not uncommon. I’ve had them effect a few takeoffs.
How long did it take the FAA to recognize micro bursts?
Don’t make excuses for him. He was overweight and attempting to compensate for that fact by pulling back aggressively to get airborne. Oops! Laws of airfoil physics allways win over pilot input no matter what.
Regards/J