GAA19CA060

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that, during an uphill takeoff into ascending terrain, about 4,000 ft down the 6,000 ft runway and at 80 knots, he rotated the airplane and stayed in ground effect to gain airspeed. He began pulling back to establish a climb, but the stall warning horn chirped, so he reduced the pitch attitude. He "constantly attempted" to pitch up until he heard the stall horn. At the end of the runway, he retracted the landing gear, but it did not affect performance. He reported that he knew the airplane had attained a positive climb rate but did not know the specific value. He then saw that the airplane was going to strike a tree, so he pulled back hard, but the airplane struck the tree and then impacted terrain. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The automated weather observation station located on the airport reported that, about 9 minutes after the accident, the wind was calm, temperature 10°C (50°F), dew point -16°C (3°F), and altimeter 30.41" Hg. The airplane departed on runway 18. The airport elevation was about 6,691 ft mean sea level (msl). Runway 18 was 6,000 ft by 100 ft with a 1.0% up gradient. The calculated density altitude was 7,128 ft. The calculated takeoff distance with flaps up was 2,442 ft and the takeoff distance over a 50 ft obstacle was 4,440 ft. The calculated rate of climb was 670 ft/min. The airplane was equipped with additional tip tanks per a supplemental type certificate, which increased the maximum gross weight to 3,833 pounds. The pilot reported that the weight at the time of the accident was 3,797 pounds with a center of gravity of 80.7", near the forward center of gravity limit. The pilot added that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector estimated that the tree was 35 to 40 ft tall. The FAA inspector provided an on-scene picture which included an elevation and latitude/longitude coordinates for the accident site. The elevation was 6,716 ft msl and, based on the coordinates, about 0.4 miles from the end of the runway. The pilot reported that, during an uphill takeoff into ascending terrain, about 4,000 ft down the 6,000-ft-long runway and at 80 knots, he rotated the airplane and stayed in ground effect to gain airspeed. He began pulling back to establish a climb, but the stall warning horn sounded, so he reduced the pitch attitude. He added that he "constantly attempted" to pitch up until he heard the stall horn. At the end of the runway, he retracted the landing gear, but it did not affect the airplane’s performance. He reported that he knew the airplane had attained a positive climb rate but did not know the specific value. He then saw that the airplane was going to strike a tree, so he pulled back hard, but the airplane struck the tree and then impacted terrain.  The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The airport’s automated weather observation station reported that, about 9 minutes after the accident, the wind was calm, temperature 50°F, dew point 3°F, and an altimeter setting of 30.41 inches of mercury. The airplane departed from runway 18. The airport elevation was about 6,691 ft mean sea level (msl). Runway 18 was 6,000 ft by 100 ft with a 1.0% up gradient. The calculated density altitude was 7,128 ft. The calculated takeoff distance with flaps up was 2,442 ft, and the takeoff distance over a 50-ft obstacle was 4,440 ft. The calculated climb rate was 670 ft per minute. The airplane was equipped with additional tip tanks per a supplemental type certificate, which increased the allowable maximum gross weight to 3,833 lbs. The pilot reported that the airplane’s weight at the time of the accident was 3,797 lbs with a center of gravity of 80.7 inches, which was near the forward center of gravity limit. The pilot added that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector estimated that the tree was 35 to 40 ft tall. The FAA inspector provided an on-scene picture, which included the elevation and latitude and longitude coordinates for the accident site. The elevation was 6,716 ft msl, and based on the coordinates, about 0.4 mile from the end of the runway. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

• C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Climb rate-Not attained/maintained - C
• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
• C Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Tree(s)-Effect on operation - C
• C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Aircraft capability-CG/weight distribution-Capability exceeded - C
• C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Aircraft capability-Maximum weight-Capability exceeded - C