Beechcraft 76 N6718X

Summary

On 30 July 2011 at about 15:25 local time, a Beechcraft 76 registered N6718X, operated by California Flight Center, Inc., was involved in an accident near Perris, California, United States. 4 people were on board and one was seriously injured, one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

30 July 2011 at 15:25

Classification

Accident

Location

Perris, California, United States

Nearest airport

Perris Valley (L65)

Coordinates

33.7550, -117.2167

Aircraft

Beechcraft 76

Registration

N6718X

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

California Flight Center, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Perris → Pasa Robles

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR11LA361

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain airplane control and the resulting encounter with an aerodynamic stall. Also causal were the pilot’s inadequate preflight planning and preflight inspection, his failure to ensure the pitch trim was positioned correctly for takeoff, his decision to operate the airplane over maximum allowable gross weight, and his attempt to operate the airplane with a center of gravity aft of the rear CG limit.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, he loaded the airplane to near its maximum certificated gross weight before departing from near the 5,100-foot-long runway's midfield location. The pilot selected runway 15, which had a 6-knot tailwind component at the time of the attempted takeoff. During the engine run-up, no mechanical discrepancies were noted. The engine attained full power before the pilot released the brakes to commence the takeoff roll. Prior to reaching the prescribed rotation airspeed, the airplane's nose pitched up and the airplane became airborne. The pilot reported that he continued attempting to maintain control of the airplane while in ground effect. The airplane then climbed above ground effect, and the left cockpit door inadvertently opened. Just as the pilot closed the door, the airplane stalled, impacted an estimated 6-foot high dirt berm, and crashed into an open field about 1,000 feet south of the runway's departure end. During the postaccident examination, about 40 gallons of fuel were found in each of the two wing tanks, for a total of 80 gallons onboard at the time of the accident. The elevator trim tab was found in the full nose-up position, and examination of that system disclosed normal function. All of the items from the baggage compartment were removed and weighed on a scale; the baggage compartment contents weighed 288 pounds, which is 88 pounds above the compartment limit. Using the airplane’s empty weight and center of gravity listed in the weight and balance section of the airplane flight manual (AFM), the actual weights of the occupants, the fuel load found on the airplane, and the weight of the baggage compartment contents, the investigation determined that the airplane’s gross weight at the accident site was 4,173.41 pounds, with a center of gravity (CG) 117.9 inches aft of the datum. The AFM and the FAA-approved Type Certificate Data sheet list the maximum allowable gross weight as 3,900 pounds with an aft CG limit at 117.5 inches. Airplanes at or aft of the rear CG limit are very sensitive in pitch control, and may even be at or near a dynamically unstable flight regime in terms of pitch handling and dampening characteristics. Accordingly, the airplane would have been especially sensitive to the full nose-up trim tab adjustment. Additionally, stall speeds increase as gross weight increases, so in the takeoff condition the airplane would have stalled at a higher airspeed, sooner than the pilot would have normally experienced and expected.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.