Piper PA-28-161 N158EA accident near Mexico, Missouri

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain airplane control during takeoff, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and subsequent collision with trees. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s inadequate preflight performance planning before departing on the soft, grass field with a quartering tailwind.

NTSB analysis

The pilot and his wife were departing from a 2,600-foot, soft, grass strip with a quartering right tailwind. The grass height on the runway was between 6 and 10 inches high. The airplane departed about 1,900 feet down the runway, veered to the left, stalled, and collided with trees before it came to rest in a field. Interpolation of available takeoff performance revealed that the airplane would have needed about 2,312 feet of ground-roll distance for a successful takeoff from a paved, level, dry runway, with zero flaps, under the existing wind conditions. No mechanical deficiencies were found with the airplane or engine that would have precluded normal operation at the time of the accident.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN12FA188 for the full record.