Accident Sequence
According to witnesses, the aircraft entered a turn shortly after taking off from a touch-and-go landing. The aircraft then stalled and began to spin to the right. It impacted the ground at the edge of a canal, approximately 1,000 feet from the departure end of the runway. Several witnesses observed the maneuver, noting that after the touch-and-go, the aircraft initiated a turn during which it lost lift and entered a stall, developing into a right spin. The descent ended with impact at the canal edge, about 1,000 feet from the runway end.
Engine Examination
One witness stated that the engine stopped abruptly before the aircraft crashed. A post-crash examination of the engine revealed low compression in all cylinders due to excessively worn pistons. However, the reason for the power loss was not verified. The examination focused on the engine condition, finding the worn pistons as the cause of low compression, but investigators could not determine why the engine lost power prior to impact.