Beech D-45 N34KT accident near Williston, Florida

Probable cause

The flight instructor's failure to maintain airspeed in changing wind conditions during a steep climb after takeoff, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor’s ostentatious display close to the ground.

NTSB analysis

Witnesses observed the airplane take off on a turf runway surrounded by trees. The airplane appeared to perform an exaggerated soft-field takeoff and became airborne within a couple of hundred feet. It then ballooned up and started to settle but then leveled off just above the runway and accelerated. When the airplane passed abeam friends of the flight instructor who were near the runway, they reported observing a few puffs of smoke emanating from the airplane's smoke system and the airplane's wings wagging up and down. When the airplane reached the end of the runway, witnesses saw it pitch up abruptly to a steep nose-up attitude and climb to about 200 feet above ground level. It then yawed and rolled left while pitching nose down. Witnesses observed the nose of the airplane oscillate up and down before the airplane descended rapidly and impacted a tree and terrain.

Postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of any preimpact malfunctions of the airplane or engine. However, examination of the tungsten filaments from the light bulbs in the stall warning indicator lights revealed that they were stretched and distorted, indicating they were likely illuminated during impact.

The flight instructor was described as knowing airplane energy management very well; however, on the day of the accident, he may have been surprised after he cleared the top of the trees surrounding the airport, where he went from a little, or no wind condition, to a condition where the airplane would have suddenly been subjected to a 30 degree crosswind and wind gusting from 10 to 16 knots. This would have affected the airplane's flight path and resulted in a loss of energy, possibly resulting in the loss of control and stall.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA12FA062 for the full record.