Event CHI94LA266

Factual narrative

On August 4, 1994, about 1500 mountain daylight time, a Beech B33, N786AA, was destroyed when it struck a tree and crashed on takeoff from a private airstrip near Imperial, Nebraska. The private pilot received minor injuries, and the single passenger aboard the airplane received serious injuries in the postcrash fire. There was no flight plan for the business flight, and visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time. The pilot stated he was attempting to make a soft field takeoff to the south. The runway was a 30 x 2600 grass strip. He reported the wind was from the east at 3-5 knots, and a small thunderstorm was to the north of the airstrip. He stated the airplane became airborne at approximately 60 mph, and attained an altitude of about 5-10 feet. At this altitude the stall warning sounded and the airplane settled to the ground. The pilot stated the airplane became airborne a second time, and crossed the fence on the left side of the runway. The airplane struck a tree located on the left side of the runway and crashed. The airplane was destroyed by a postcrash fire. THE PILOT WAS ATTEMPTING TO MAKE A SOFT FIELD TAKEOFF FROM A PRIVATE GRASS STRIP. RUNWAY HEADING WAS 170. THE PILOT REPORTED THE WIND WAS FROM THE EAST AT 3-5 KNOTS. HE SAID HE ROTATED AT 60 MPH AND THE AIRPLANE CLIMBED TO ABOUT 10 FEET AND THE STALL WARNING SOUNDED. THE AIRPLANE SETTLED TO THE GROUND BUT BECAME AIRBORNE A SECOND TIME, AND CROSSED A FENCE ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE RUNWAY. THE LEFT WING OF THE AIRPLANE STRUCK A TREE ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE RUNWAY AND CRASHED. IT WAS DESTROYED BY A POSTCRASH FIRE. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12