Beech 77 N991AB accident near Lihue, Hawaii

Probable cause

The airplane’s exceedance of its critical angle of attack after encountering a downdraft during departure, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and impact with terrain.

NTSB analysis

The pilot reported that, during departure, he could not climb the airplane, which stalled toward the end of the runway and descended into terrain at the edge of the airport property, resulting in substantial damage to both wings and fuselage. The pilot of a commercial airplane that departed shortly before the accident airplane reported poor climb performance during departure. A review of the topography for the runway that was used for both takeoffs indicated the possibility of downdraft conditions on the departure path of the runway. It is likely that the airplane encountered a downdraft during departure that exceeded the climb capability of the airplane and resulted in the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack, entering an aerodynamic stall, and descending into terrain.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ANC23LA009 for the full record.