Event CEN23LA212

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that on departure, the airplane settled to the ground and struck a levee. The airplane came to rest upside down in a field about 100 feet from the point of impact. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, horizontal stabilizer, and vertical stabilizer. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The accident occurred shortly after takeoff from a private turf/dirt strip used only for agricultural operations. The pilot reported that the airplane was about 320 pounds below its maximum gross weight of 6,070 lbs., that the density altitude at the time of the accident was about 2,000 feet msl, and that he turned “a little premature” after taking off with a full load of fertilizer. 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).

• — Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Monitoring environment-Pilot
• — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Altitude-Not attained/maintained
• — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Terrain-(general)-Contributed to outcome