Fatal crash of N71646 following gravel road takeoff

What happened

The aircraft was one of three that had landed on a gravel road near a truck stop where the occupants had breakfast. During departure, the first two aircraft took off without incident. Witnesses reported that when the third aircraft N71646 took off, the pilot began a left turn at about 75 feet above ground level, then the aircraft began losing altitude. The pilot stated the aircraft encountered enough tailwind and/or downdraft due to freeway elevation to cause loss of airspeed. Subsequently, the aircraft descended and crashed on a southerly heading. One occupant was a three-and-a-half-year-old child, which was being held on his mother's lap when the aircraft took off. He received a fatal head injury during the occurrence. The pilot indicated the wind was from the north or northeast at 10 to 15 knots, but said the windsock on a nearby building was hanging limp. Density altitude was approximately 6400 feet. The crash resulted in 1 fatal injury.

Findings

Contributing factors included the pilot's decision to operate in high density altitude conditions and encounter with turbulent air near elevated infrastructure.