Boeing A75N1 (PT17) N48182 accident near Ingleside, Texas

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain proper yaw and roll control during takeoff, which resulted in excessive adverse yaw upon liftoff.

NTSB analysis

The airline transport pilot was conducting a personal flight in the tailwheel-equipped airplane in the airport traffic pattern. He reported making two uneventful stop-and-go landings before the accident takeoff. The third takeoff was uneventful until the tail became airborne, and the airplane began to veer to the right. He applied back stick pressure to become airborne, and upon liftoff, the airplane continued to yaw right. He reduced airplane pitch to increase airspeed, but the airplane continued to yaw right, and it subsequently entered an uncommanded right roll with a slight nose-up pitch attitude. The pilot was unable to regain control with full left rudder and left aileron inputs, and the airplane impacted terrain in a right-wing-low attitude. The airplane subsequently nosed over and came to rest inverted.

Although the pilot believed a failure of the horizontal stabilizer caused the loss of control during takeoff, a postaccident laboratory examination determined that all observed separations were consistent with overstress failures due to impact-related damage; no materials anomalies were identified with any of the submitted components. It is likely the pilot did not maintain proper yaw and roll control during takeoff, which resulted in excessive adverse yaw upon liftoff. The pilot reported having flown 10 hours in the accident airplane make/model.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN17LA032 for the full record.