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ERA21LA027

2020-10-14 · Sewanee, Tennessee, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport UOS

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The airplane’s encounter with a downdraft during the initial climb, which resulted in an impact with trees.

Factual narrative

The pilot was taking off from a 3,700-ft-long runway and described that during the initial climb at an altitude of around 40 feet, the airplane encountered a downdraft from wind gusting over trees next to the runway. He further reported that the engine was developing full power, but the airplane was unable to climb out of the downdraft. The airplane impacted trees at the departure end of the runway, and the fuselage and right wing were substantially damaged. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Climb rate-Attain/maintain not possible
  • — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Turbulence-Terrain induced turbulence-Effect on operation

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2020_ERA21LA027.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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