Pilot Debrief

BEECH 77 near Lihue, HI — 2022-12-15

Final reportANC23LA009
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Date
2022-12-15
Location
Lihue, HI, USA
Airport
PHLI
Aircraft
BEECH 77
Registration
N991AB
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Serious
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Climb

Probable cause

The airplane’s exceedance of its critical angle of attack after encountering a downdraft during departure, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and impact with terrain.

NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, during departure, he could not climb the airplane, which stalled toward the end of the runway and descended into terrain at the edge of the airport property, resulting in substantial damage to both wings and fuselage. The pilot of a commercial airplane that departed shortly before the accident airplane reported poor climb performance during departure. A review of the topography for the runway that was used for both takeoffs indicated the possibility of downdraft conditions on the departure path of the runway. It is likely that the airplane encountered a downdraft during departure that exceeded the climb capability of the airplane and resulted in the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack, entering an aerodynamic stall, and descending into terrain.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Controlled flight into terrain
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have chosen to use runway 17 instead of runway 21 to avoid downdrafts.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

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

Docket documents8

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