What happened
The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.
The pilot obtained local automated weather report from ict (wichita dwight d. eisenhower airport, wichita, KS) prior to takeoff, indicating clear skies, light/variable winds, and temperature 69F. Eck Field windsock indicated winds at 7-10 mph out of the sse. The pilot taxied to the north end of runway with one passenger, conducted a normal run-up and then advanced the throttle to full power for the takeoff run. The aircraft lifted off at a normally experienced distance. The aircraft began to drift to the left and the pilot corrected to maintain runway alignment. At this point, the pilot felt the aircraft become mushy and noticed his airspeed was decreasing. The pilot then lowered the aircrafts nose to regain airspeed and controllability, but the mushiness continued even after lowering the nose even further. The pilot kept the wings level until the aircraft contacted the ground in the soft field directly off the end of the runway, coming to a sudden stop. The pilot noticed that the windsock had switched directions and was indicating 7-10 mph winds out of the nne after the incident. The aircraft suffered substantial damage, the pilot had minor injuries, but the passenger was uninjured. The pilot will be counseled on operating near the limits of the aircraft's capability.
As the FAA filed it
THE PILOT OBTAINED LOCAL AUTOMATED WEATHER REPORT FROM ICT (WICHITA DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER AIRPORT, WICHITA, KS) PRIOR TO TAKEOFF, INDICATING CLEAR SKIES, LIGHT/VARIABLE WINDS, AND TEMPERATURE 69F. ECK FIELD WINDSOCK INDICATED WINDS AT 7-10 MPH OUT OF THE SSE. THE PILOT TAXIED TO THE NORTH END OF RUNWAY WITH ONE PASSENGER, CONDUCTED A NORMAL RUN-UP AND THEN ADVANCED THE THROTTLE TO FULL POWER FOR THE TAKEOFF RUN. THE AIRCRAFT LIFTED OFF AT A NORMALLY EXPERIENCED DISTANCE. THE AIRCRAFT BEGAN TO DRIFT TO THE LEFT AND THE PILOT CORRECTED TO MAINTAIN RUNWAY ALIGNMENT. AT THIS POINT, THE PILOT FELT THE AIRCRAFT BECOME MUSHY AND NOTICED HIS AIRSPEED WAS DECREASING. THE PILOT THEN LOWERED THE AIRCRAFTS NOSE TO REGAIN AIRSPEED AND CONTROLLABILITY, BUT THE MUSHINESS CONTINUED EVEN AFTER LOWERING THE NOSE EVEN FURTHER. THE PILOT KEPT THE WINGS LEVEL UNTIL THE AIRCRAFT CONTACTED THE GROUND IN THE SOFT FIELD DIRECTLY OFF THE END OF THE RUNWAY, COMING TO A SUDDEN STOP. THE PILOT NOTICED THAT THE WINDSOCK HAD SWITCHED DIRECTIONS AND WAS INDICATING 7-10 MPH WINDS OUT OF THE NNE AFTER THE INCIDENT. THE AIRCRAFT SUFFERED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE, THE PILOT HAD MINOR INJURIES, BUT THE PASSENGER WAS UNINJURED. THE PILOT WILL BE COUNSELED ON OPERATING NEAR THE LIMITS OF THE AIRCRAFT'S CAPABILITY.
NTSB investigation
The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.