This was the pilot’s third skydiving flight of the day. He performed a back taxi on the runway at the airport in Warrenton, Virginia, for takeoff. He reported that as he rotated the Pacific Aerospace 750XL for takeoff, he heard a “steady” stall warning horn, the flight controls felt mushy, and the airplane would not climb.
He aborted the takeoff and applied maximum braking and reverse thrust, but the airplane overran the remaining runway. Subsequently, the landing gear collapsed and the plane hit a fence.
The left and right wing sustained substantial damage.
After the accident, the pilot reported that he observed the wing flaps in the fully retracted position. He reported that the flaps should have been set to 20° for takeoff.
The pilot reported that he forgot to set the flaps during the back taxi for takeoff because he was communicating with other airplanes near the airport.
The pilot did not use a physical checklist, but told investigators he did run through a checklist mentally.
Probable cause: The pilot’s failure to set the wing flaps for takeoff, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall, an aborted takeoff, and a runway overrun.
NTSB Identification: GAA16CA477
This September 2016 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.
My (before) takeoff mantra: Flaps, fuel (tank selector, pump if req and mixture), trim. Never takeoff without verifying those killer items.
Low powered planes on a full flap takeoff attempt is a recipe for disaster. Especially if at higher density altitudes. The Cirrus has a flaw in this part of it’s design. The visual on the flap control is blocked by the throttle since it is on the right side of the console…should be in the middle or left side. Taking off with flaps in the wrong position is common UNLESS you do a full pre-roll checklist check…something most do not do.