NYC96LA089

The pilot departed on turf runway 7, which was surrounded by trees. He reported the winds as variable to a light tailwind. After getting airborne, the airplane encountered turbulence, would not climb, and eventually struck trees beyond the departure end of the runway. There was no report of an engine problem. The FAA reported that the prevailing winds in the area were from 260 degrees at 10 knots, with gusts to 20 knots. The pilot had received his private pilot certificate three weeks prior to the accident, and had a total time of 102 hours.

On April 21, 1996, at 1630 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 152, struck trees after departing a private airport in Greenville, New York. The private pilot and passenger received minor injuries, and the airplane was substantially damaged. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the personal transportation flight which was operated under 14 CFR Part 91. The planned destination was Farmingdale, New Jersey.

In the NTSB Accident Report, the pilot stated:

"...The winds seemed light and variable slight between crosswind and slight tailwind. The sock went from limp to 1/2 inflated at most...When the wind seemed most favorable, I accelerated...Acceleration seemed to take its time but we were light at the transition from level to downgrade on the rway and the wheels were off the ground at about the center of the southern-most hanger. I felt committed to the takeoff at this point and pushed over slightly to accelerate to 60 kts. When I pulled back gently to climbout the plane seemed to climb, then sink instead. I believe the stall warning sounded and I pushed the nose back to level to regain speed. I then tried to climb out again and the plane just would not climbout.

At about this point a gust of wind knocked my left wing low for an instant. My recovery was instant but a few seconds later I believe my left wing brushed the top of a tree lightly. The plane was not affected but still not climbing....

I felt I could not avoid the tree without turning hard and either hitting other trees, left and right, or stall and spinning in.

I decided to bull my way thru the highest point I could reach on the tree. Trying not to stall, I kept a slight right bank angle and attempted a gently zoom up at the last instant so as not to hit the center of the plane at the center of the tree. When we hit the tree, our tail was flipped up and we crash landed in the field beyond the tree..."

According to a Federal Aviation Agency Operations Inspector, the airport was surrounded by trees. The runway was 2300 feet long, smooth, with a turf surface and the grass was about 1 inch high. The recommended takeoff was downhill and landing was uphill. The pilot was departing on runway 7, which was downhill. In interviews with both the pilot and passenger, there were no reports of problems with the engine. The prevailing winds were from the west at 10 knots with gusts to 20 knots.

The pilot had received his Private Pilot Certificate on March 31, 1996. He reported his total time as 102 hours with 81 hours in a Cessna 152.