The pilot and a friend flew in the friend’s airplane to pick up the Temco GC 1B after recent repairs were completed due to a previous ground loop in 2016.
The pilot’s friend and the mechanic observed the airplane during the takeoff. It accelerated straight and normal and flew “cleanly” off the turf runway in Hartsville, Indiana.
Shortly after rotation, the airplane rolled left until it hit trees in a near inverted attitude adjacent to the runway. The pilot died in the crash.
The mechanic stated he thought the airplane experienced a departure stall during the takeoff.
A post-accident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
The witness observations are consistent with the pilot’s loss of control after exceeding the airplane’s critical angle of attack during takeoff, which resulted in a power-on, aerodynamic departure stall.
Probable cause: The pilot’s loss of control after exceeding the airplane’s critical angle of attack during takeoff, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.
NTSB Identification: CEN17FA152
This April 2017 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’ve read the whole report and what concerns me is, nothing was said about being absolutely sure that the right aileron was rigged correctly. And if it weren’t, and you are trying to use “right” aileron to correct for a left roll and it were mis-rigged, the more you commanded right aileron, the worse the roll to the left would get. And the pilot wouldn’t necessarily recognize that opposite control was needed if not right rudder with the controls otherwise neutral.
Just me sitting here trying to think of how this pilot would do a 90 degree bank just after departing the runway.