On September 11, 1999, a Gulfstream American AA-5A (registration N26801) was involved in an aviation accident near Carthage, MS. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot-in-command's failure to maintain altitude clearance while maneuvering. A factor was the pine trees. This summary draws on records from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) historical archive.
An airplane struck pine trees while attempting to climb after the pilot resumed control from a passenger who was photographing burned timberland. The aircraft came to rest inverted at the tree base.
Flight Description
The owner of the airplane, who held a pilot rating, flew with one other passenger to the owner's farm to photograph timberland recently burned in a fire. During most of the flight, the owner acted as the pilot. At some point, he temporarily relinquished the flight controls to the passenger in the right seat.
Event Sequence
After the right-seat passenger took several pictures while at the controls, he looked up and observed several trees directly ahead of the airplane's flight path. The owner then resumed full control of the airplane, applied full power, and pulled back on the control yoke in an attempt to gain altitude. The airplane was unable to clear the tops of the trees and impacted several pine trees. It came to rest along the base of the pine trees in an inverted position.