Piper PA28R N52737 accident near Lake City, Florida

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to attain adequate airspeed before attempting the takeoff with a tailwind, which resulted in the airplane being unable to sustain flight.

NTSB analysis

The private pilot was attempting to depart from a 2,600-ft-long turf runway with a right quartering tailwind with three passengers onboard. A witness estimated that the tailwind was about 8 knots. The pilot reported that the only thing he could recall about the flight was that he had "difficulty getting the airplane into the air." Another witness reported that, immediately after becoming airborne, the airplane entered a series of pitch oscillations; during each oscillation, the airplane appeared to be near the stall speed and lose altitude. After several oscillations, the airplane neared the left side of the runway and impacted treetops before impacting the ground and cartwheeling. One of the witnesses stated that the engine sound did not change during takeoff and that the engine appeared to be running well the entire time.

Given the evidence, it is likely that the pilot's failure to attain adequate airspeed before attempting the takeoff with a tailwind, which led to the airplane being unable to sustain flight.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA19LA041 for the full record.