Departure and Initial Climb
A pilot and aircraft owner was departing an airport in the early morning hours. The airport has a single runway with a 08/26 orientation. The airport control tower was closed, but traffic advisories were provided by a flight service station (FSS). FSS personnel cannot see the runway. The pilot contacted the FSS by radio and stated he was departing runway 10. The FSS specialist responded that there was no runway 10, then provided an airport advisory.
Airport field maintenance personnel, monitoring the radio communications, observed the aircraft depart on runway 08. After departure, the aircraft climbed to about 400 feet above ground level in a nose-high attitude.
Loss of Control and Impact
The aircraft then began to roll left and right, and subsequently descended sharply to the left, toward the left (north) side of the runway. The aircraft pulled up slightly while still turning left. It collided with the top 4 feet of a 30-foot-tall spruce tree, located next to a creek between taxiway A and a service road along the north side of the taxiway. After striking the tree, the aircraft collided with the south side of a hangar about 20 feet above the ground, and then fell onto the hangar apron.
Pilot and Aircraft Information
The pilot's private pilot certificate had been revoked on March 29, 1991. The pilot's medical certificate was expired. The aircraft had a current annual inspection, but had not been flown in approximately three years.
Investigation Findings
During the accident investigation, no preimpact mechanical malfunction of the aircraft was observed. A postmortem toxicological examination of the pilot's blood, conducted by the state medical examiner, revealed the presence of 0.044 gm/dl of ethanol. A toxicological examination of fluid and tissue samples harvested by the medical examiner and analyzed at the FAA's Civil Aeromedical Institute (CAMI) was negative for ethanol or drugs in the urine. Additional testing of samples retained by CAMI were also negative for ethanol.