Pilot Debrief

BEECH C23 near Purcellville, VA — 2021-03-04

Final reportERA21FA148
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Date
2021-03-04
Location
Purcellville, VA, USA
Airport
14VA
Aircraft
BEECH C23
Registration
N67013
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Fatal
Fatalities
1
Phase of flight
Takeoff roll

Probable cause

The pilot's improper decision to depart from the short turf runway with a tailwind.

NTSB narrative

The pilot was attempting to depart from a 1,900-ft-long turf runway, and customarily would depart toward the south as the runway sloped downhill in that direction (a total elevation change of about 50 feet). A witness described that, during the takeoff, the airplane was departing with a tailwind. The wind conditions at the closest weather reporting station about 13 nautical miles away indicated that a right quartering tailwind likely prevailed, with a right crosswind component of 21 knots and a tailwind component of 12 knots, gusting to 14 knots. The airplane subsequently impacted the tops of trees about 300 feet beyond and to the left of the runway departure end, and continued about 300 feet farther before coming to rest. Postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of any preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The takeoff performance chart for the airplane indicated that a ground roll of 1,236 ft was required on a grass surface, and 2,068 ft was needed to clear a 50-ft obstacle. The chart did not contain a correction factor for a takeoff with a tailwind, which would require a longer ground roll and takeoff distance. With the available runway distance of 1,900 ft, the pilot would have been operating the airplane near the limits of its performance capability before accounting for the additional distance required due to the prevailing tailwind. Given this information, it is likely that the pilot’s decision to depart in the gusting tailwind conditions resulted in an inflight collision with trees during the initial climb.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Controlled flight into terrain
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have aborted takeoff due to tailwind and crosswind conditions.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 13 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents13

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