Cessna 182R N9611H accident near Santa Fe, New Mexico

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to remove ice from the airplane’s surfaces before departure, which resulted in the airplane’s inability to attain sufficient airspeed shortly after takeoff, the subsequent exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle-of-attack, and an aerodynamic stall.

NTSB analysis

The private pilot was conducting a personal cross-country flight. The pilot reported that, during takeoff with 0 flaps, he accelerated the airplane to about 60 knots and that it subsequently lifted off. About 50 to 100 ft above ground level, the airplane entered an uncommanded steep left bank; the pilot used aileron and rudder inputs and briefly regained control of the airplane before it again banked hard left, pitched down, and impacted terrain. The airplane came to rest upright about 500 ft left of the runway and about 3,000 ft from the beginning of the takeoff roll. The uncommanded bank and pitch down is indicative of an aerodynamic stall.

A witness at the airport reported that all of the aircraft, which included the accident airplane, that had been parked overnight on the ramp had frost or ice on them. He added that, before departure, the pilot did not remove any of the frost or ice from the airplane's wings, tail, or fuselage. Photographs of the airplane taken about 45 minutes after the accident showed 1/8- to 1/4-inch-thick rough, mixed rime ice adhering to the wing. The pilot's failure to remove the ice from the airplane's surfaces before departure degraded its takeoff performance and prevented it from attaining sufficient speed to remain airborne and resulted in an aerodynamic stall.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN15LA109 for the full record.