The pilot of the Beechcraft Sierra was attempting to takeoff from the airport in Peyton, Colo. He had logged 71.4 hours, of which 6.1 were in the Beech Sierra.When the plane reached the rotation speed, he applied back pressure and the plane lifted off. When it reached an altitude about 50 feet AGL, the stall warning horn sounded.
The pilot attempted to maintain airspeed and then decided to make a forced landing to a field straight ahead.
The airplane landed in the field, went through a small wire fence and over an embankment before finally coming to a stop on a highway. Neither the pilot nor passenger were injured.
The NTSB determined the probable cause of the accident as the pilot’s failure to maintain proper pitch control during takeoff.
NTSB Identification: CEN13CA334
This June 2015 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.
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Unfortunately there’s little information in the accident report. In a general review, there are two critical adjustments needed for a high elevation takeoff. The engine needs to be leaned. For a C172R, it should be leaned for the maximum rpm possible, which will still be lower than at lower elevations. The accident report doesn’t mention anything about leaning or not leaning. The other item is an adjustment in pitch – it will need to be lower to maintain Vx/Vy. Be prepared to see the engine cowling further below the horizon and the attitude indicator pitch reference at a lower degree of pitch.
In addition, the indicated airspeed for Vx and Vy will be different, so check the POH so you don’t pitch to the wrong airspeed. The rate of climb may be very, very low. When I flew at Leadville, CO with a local instructor, the rate of climb usually stayed in-between 100 to 300 fpm, and that was with an intentionally low fuel load. At 100fpm, the airplane can seem to be more in level flight than a climb. Recheck to verify at Vx or Vy as desired. When I transitioned a little up in airspeed for a cruise climb, the rate of climb would disappear. I used to always do some reduced power takeoffs and climbs with students (at our home airport of 18ft elevation) so they would understand how either high elevation or a power malfunction would affect the takeoff roll, rotation, and climb. The normal reaction is to pull the nose up and try to establish the normal climb angle, but that would definitely result in a stall with the power reduction I had set. After 1 minute we would be at 100-200ft agl instead of 700 – mentally and visually adjusting to that was quite a valuable experience.
Can you say “density altitude” ?
Accident occurred in June from a field elevation of approximately 6,800 feet, I’m guessing density altitude was a factor. Two on board, perhaps full fuel = high, hot and heavy with a 165 HP can catch an unsuspecting pilot by surprise. I won’t soon forget the time I refueled at a CO mountain strip on a hot day, aircraft performance was considerably diminished!
I agree, there’s got to be more to this story. Over rotation is the inference but it sounds more like a loss of power or lack thereof.
Where is the rest of the story? Something is a miss here !