What happened
The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.
Lost and engine shortly after departure. Observed flying low engine sputtering. Impacted terrain 1 mile east of tmb. (-23) witness states he saw aircraft depart runway 9L. Engine were audibly running rough and left engine was emitting black smoke. Aircraft was extremely low at end of runway (approx. 50FT) and made a series of shallow banked left turns while climbing to approx. 150 ft. when on a downwind heading the aircraft entered a left roll and impacted the ground nose first, almost vertically, in a wooded area approx. 1.25 miles from airport center. There was no post impact fire and little evidence of fuel on scene. (.4) an aircraft mechanic working abeam of the point on the runw ay that the airplane lifted off was attracted by the sound of engine roughness, and observed black smoke trailing from the left engine. The airplane continued to climb to about 150 feet AGL, enter a series of shallow left turns at about the airport's east boundary at slow speed, and then enter a rapid left roll and pitch down. The pilot transmitted an unreadable call on FAA tower frequency, but the words, 'we got a..' And 'engine' were clearly discernable. The airplane crashed in dense brush abou t 1.25 miles northeast of the airport. Contamination was found in the left engine fuel system. Post crash testing of the left fuel servo revealed it would not sustain a steady state fuel flow above about one half throttle due to contamination.
As the FAA filed it
LOST AND ENGINE SHORTLY AFTER DEPARTURE. OBSERVED FLYING LOW ENGINE SPUTTERING. IMPACTED TERRAIN 1 MILE EAST OF TMB. (-23) WITNESS STATES HE SAW AIRCRAFT DEPART RUNWAY 9L. ENGINE WERE AUDIBLY RUNNING ROUGH AND LEFT ENGINE WAS EMITTING BLACK SMOKE. AIRCRAFT WAS EXTREMELY LOW AT END OF RUNWAY (APPROX. 50FT) AND MADE A SERIES OF SHALLOW BANKED LEFT TURNS WHILE CLIMBING TO APPROX. 150 FT. WHEN ON A DOWNWIND HEADING THE AIRCRAFT ENTERED A LEFT ROLL AND IMPACTED THE GROUND NOSE FIRST, ALMOST VERTICALLY, IN A WOODED AREA APPROX. 1.25 MILES FROM AIRPORT CENTER. THERE WAS NO POST IMPACT FIRE AND LITTLE EVIDENCE OF FUEL ON SCENE. (.4) AN AIRCRAFT MECHANIC WORKING ABEAM OF THE POINT ON THE RUNW AY THAT THE AIRPLANE LIFTED OFF WAS ATTRACTED BY THE SOUND OF ENGINE ROUGHNESS, AND OBSERVED BLACK SMOKE TRAILING FROM THE LEFT ENGINE. THE AIRPLANE CONTINUED TO CLIMB TO ABOUT 150 FEET AGL, ENTER A SERIES OF SHALLOW LEFT TURNS AT ABOUT THE AIRPORT'S EAST BOUNDARY AT SLOW SPEED, AND THEN ENTER A RAPID LEFT ROLL AND PITCH DOWN. THE PILOT TRANSMITTED AN UNREADABLE CALL ON FAA TOWER FREQUENCY, BUT THE WORDS, 'WE GOT A..' AND 'ENGINE' WERE CLEARLY DISCERNABLE. THE AIRPLANE CRASHED IN DENSE BRUSH ABOU T 1.25 MILES NORTHEAST OF THE AIRPORT. CONTAMINATION WAS FOUND IN THE LEFT ENGINE FUEL SYSTEM. POST CRASH TESTING OF THE LEFT FUEL SERVO REVEALED IT WOULD NOT SUSTAIN A STEADY STATE FUEL FLOW ABOVE ABOUT ONE HALF THROTTLE DUE TO CONTAMINATION.
NTSB investigation
The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.