ERA22LA312

The non-certificated pilot and his passenger lifted off about halfway down the 1,650 ft grass runway. During the initial climb, the airplane drifted to the left without gaining sufficient altitude to clear trees bordering the left side of the runway. As they approached the trees, the pilot increased the pitch attitude to clear them; in doing so, the airspeed degraded below the stall speed of 31 knots while simultaneously striking the tree branches. The airplane then descended and impacted terrain. A postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed no preimpact mechanical malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. Engine sounds recorded on a wing-mounted video camera revealed the engine was operating normally during the entire flight. The debris path and impact signatures were consistent with an aerodynamic stall. Based on the evidence, the pilot turned towards the trees after takeoff and made a decision to fly over them. However, in doing so he exceeded the airplane’s critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and loss of control. The investigation identified no issues that would have affected the airplane’s climb performance.

On July 14, 2022, about 1940 eastern daylight time, a Flightstar II-SC, N6116U, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident at Shield Farm Airport (5PA6), Russell, Pennsylvania. The non-certificated pilot was seriously injured, and the passenger sustained minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot began the takeoff roll on runway 4, a 1,650 ft-long turf runway with an upward slope, and lifted off about the midpoint of the runway. Shortly after lifting off the airplane made a turn to the left towards the trees to the north-northwest of the runway, reaching a maximum altitude of about 15 ft above ground level. The airplane passed through the trees then disappeared. The passenger who was seated in the right seat stated, “We tried to make it over the trees, and we hit a tree. It didn’t climb like it normally does.” Recorded video from the wing-mounted camera showed the takeoff roll, climb, and turn with the pilot at the controls and adding left rudder. The airplane impacted the trees about 300 ft north-northwest of the runway, then descended into a creek bed at an elevation of about 1,230 ft, where it came to rest on its left side. The pilot, who was also the owner of the airplane, was seriously injured and unable to recall the events of the accident or provide a written report. The airplane was a two-seat, high-wing, single-engine kit airplane. Its empty weight was 465 lbs; it had a maximum speed of 83 knots with a stall speed of 31 knots. It was an experimental special light sport category airplane that required Federal Aviation Administration-mandated training and the issuance of a sport pilot certificate. Examination of the airframe and engine revealed that the airplane's left wing was separated, and the fuselage exhibited substantial damage on the pilot’s (left) side. Two of the three propeller blades were severed near the hub. Subsequent examination of the engine revealed no anomalies. The fuel tank contained about 3 gallons of fuel, and there was fuel in both carburetor bowls with no evidence of water or foreign debris. The four spark plugs showed no evidence of carbon or oil fouling. Flight control continuity was confirmed from all flight control surfaces. The external wing-mounted video recording was forwarded to the National Transportation Safety Board Vehicle Recorders Laboratory, Washington, DC, (for more information, see Video Study and Performance study in the public docket for this accident). A performance study was conducted using the data recovered from the video, which was mounted on the left wing and pointed down the wing into the cockpit. The video images recorded the GPS time, latitude, longitude, and altitude of the airplane which were recorded once a second. The airplane accelerated down the runway along the centerline when the track began deviating to the left and the altitude increased slightly at an airspeed of about 40 knots. (thestall speed was 36 mph/31 knots) The airplane tracked to the left while not gaining significant altitude and maintained airspeed for about 6 seconds. The airplane then gained 10 ft in about 3 seconds, which equated to about a 200 foot-per-minute climb. The airplane then began to slow and lost altitude. It descended and continued making a gradual left turn. As the ground speed dropped below 20 knots, the airplane then made a sharp left turn and descended into the trees and terrain. In addition, a video study estimated the wing’s pitch angle exceeded 20º shortly before the airplane impacted trees. The sound from the video was used to estimate the engine rpm; the study found that the engine operated at 6090 rpm, near the rated speed, throughout the flight.