FTW99LA117

The pilot failed to obtain the proper climb rate after takeoff resulting in an inadvertent stall into the trees at the departure end of the airstrip. The 3,600 foot long grass airstrip was surrounded by rising terrain. The 1,035 hour pilot stated that the flight encountered 'shifting breezes and sink, and the terrain rose faster than we did.' The 1953 vintage airplane came to rest wedged atop 30 foot oak and elm trees in a residential subdivision. The winds at the Drake Field Airport (FYV), located 6 miles west of the accident site, were reported to be from 250 degrees at 9 knots, gusting to 19 knots. According to the airplane's flight manual the airplane should have been capable of climbing at 600 feet per minute under the existing weather conditions and calculated gross weight of the airplane.

On April 18, 1999, at 1630 central daylight time, a Cessna 170B tailwheel equipped airplane, N3251A, was substantially damaged upon impact with trees during initial takeoff climb from a private airstrip near Fayetteville, Arkansas. The non-instrument rated private pilot and the 3 passengers were not injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed throughout the area for the Title 14 CFR Part 91 flight for which a flight plan was not filed. The flight's destination was the Bentonville Municipal Airport, near Bentonville, Arkansas. The flight was originating at the time of the accident.

According to local law enforcement personnel who responded to the accident site, the pilot reported that after participating in a fly-in at the Wedington Wood Airport, he performed a normal takeoff to the south from the 3,600 foot long grass runway. The pilot added that the airplane encountered some "dead air" during initial takeoff climb and the "airplane stalled into the trees." A deputy sheriff reported that the terrain rises to the south beyond the departure end of the runway.

In the narrative portion of the enclosed NTSB Form 6120.1/2, the 1,035 hour pilot stated that witnesses at the airport observed his aircraft "sink at least twice during climb out." He further describes that the climb out was "up over the hollow leading to the ridge where we impacted." The pilot added that "we encountered shifting breezes and sink, and the terrain rose faster than we did."

The airplane came to rest wedged atop 30 foot oak and elm trees in a residential subdivision beyond the departure end of runway 17. The pilot, his wife, and two teenage children were rescued by a ladder truck from the local fire department.

The wind at the Drake Field Airport (FYV), located 6 miles west of the accident site, was reported to be from 250 degrees at 9 knots, gusting to 19 knots. The density altitude was calculated by the investigator-in-charge as 1,518 feet.

According to the performance information in the flight manual for the 1953 Cessna 170 airplane, the airplane should have been capable of climbing at 600 feet per minute under the existing weather conditions and calculated gross weight of the airplane. The takeoff distance to clear a 50 foot obstacle with the flaps retracted was calculated as 2,190 feet, or 2,050 feet with the flaps extended 20 degrees.