Event CEN14LA458

Factual narrative

On August 26, 2014, at 1800 central daylight time, N8176M, a Beechcraft A-36 single-engine airplane, sustained substantial damage on takeoff from West Houston Airport (IWS), Houston, Texas. The private pilot and the three passengers were not injured. An instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the personal flight that was destined for Monroe, Louisiana. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight that was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Aviation Regulations Part 91. The pilot stated that he conducted a preflight inspection and engine run-up before takeoff and everything was normal. He then departed and rotated at 80 knots and the airplane began to climb. The pilot said, "A couple of seconds into the climb, I seemed to have a performance/power loss - no ability to climb. I leveled the nose in an attempt to gain airspeed - then slightly down. I engaged the landing gear up-switch, the plane began to descend." The airplane then landed back on its belly and slid off the runway and struck the runway's precision approach path indicator (PAPI) lights. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector was at the airport and witnessed the accident. He said he watched the airplane depart and cross in front of him from left to right "with a nose high attitude and in an exaggerated cross control condition." The inspector estimated the tail of the airplane was about 10 feet above the surface of the runway. The airplane disappeared from the inspector's view for a brief second and the next time he saw the airplane it was sliding on its belly. The inspector later examined the airplane and reported that it had sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, empennage and firewall. The three bladed propeller was also damaged. One blade was missing approximately 4 inches from the tip and bent backwards in an arc covering approximately 2/3's of the blade. The other two blades where intact and were both bent backwards over 2/3 of the blade. No mechanical deficiencies were identified that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane and engine at the time of the accident. According to the Beech Bonanza A-36 Pilot Operating Handbook (POH), Section IV, TAKEOFF checklist, the landing gear is only to be retracted once a positive rate-of-climb is established. The pilot held a private pilot certificate for airplane single-engine land. He reported a total of 928 hours, of which, 149 hours were in the same make/model as the accident airplane. The pilot said that, shortly after takeoff, the airplane seemed to have a "performance/power loss" and that it was not climbing. He lowered the airplane's nose in an attempt to gain airspeed and retracted the landing gear. The airplane immediately descended back onto the runway, slid on its belly, and then struck several approach lights. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector witnessed the accident and said that, after the airplane departed, it entered a nose-high, exaggerated cross-control condition with the airplane's tail only about 10 ft above the runway. The inspector momentarily lost sight of the airplane, but, when he saw it again, it had landed on its belly and was sliding off the runway. According to the Pilot's Operating Handbook, the landing gear should only be retracted on takeoff once a positive climb rate has been established. No preimpact mechanical deficiencies were identified that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
• C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Airspeed-Not attained/maintained - C
• C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Altitude-Not attained/maintained - C
• — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Runway/taxi/approach light-Contributed to outcome
• F Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Use of equip/system-Pilot - F
• F Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Incorrect action performance-Pilot - F