Accident Overview
On 9 August 2002 at approximately 11:15 UTC, a Beechcraft Bonanza A36 (modified), registration N7205R, departed from a private grass airstrip at Ballyneale Stud, Ballingarry, County Limerick, Ireland. The aircraft failed to achieve sufficient airspeed after takeoff, stalled, and struck a hedgerow before coming to rest in an adjacent field. The aircraft was written off. One passenger subsequently died as a result of injuries sustained in the accident; the pilot and the other passenger also suffered injuries.
Flight History
The aircraft had been recently purchased by the owner, and the pilot assisted in its acquisition and importation. The accident occurred on the first visit of the aircraft and pilot to the owner's airstrip. The pilot flew from Stansted to Leeds Airport the day before. On the morning of the accident, the aircraft was refueled with 121 US gallons of Jet A1 and departed Leeds for Ballyneale. The pilot, the sole occupant for that flight, arrived over Ballyneale at approximately 10:30 hrs and communicated via radio with a pilot employed by the owner, who was on the ground near a Cessna 182. The ground pilot briefed the pilot of N7205R on the airstrip conditions, noting a wet section of the runway and a cross-track traversing it.
The pilot performed an initial approach and go-around to familiarize himself with the field, then landed on runway 27 without difficulty, stopping about three-quarters of the way down. After parking, the owner and two passengers (a male and a female, both relatives of the owner) boarded for a flight to Gloster, UK. The female passenger sat in a rearward-facing left seat; the male sat in a rear forward-facing right seat. Approximately 22 kg of luggage was loaded behind the rear seat, with a small bag in the nose baggage bay and another behind the co-pilot seat. The pilot checked the passengers and luggage, then started the engine and taxied to the start of runway 27, stopping 25 meters from the start and 2.3 meters right of the runway center. He performed pre-flight checks, set flaps to 12°, and initiated the take-off.
During the take-off run, the aircraft initially tracked left, briefly straightened, then veered left again, passing through a wet section of the runway near the left edge. The aircraft rotated just before the cross-track, where the owner and others had gathered, and lifted over the track, touching down briefly. The left main wheel was about 0.5 meters from the left runway edge, and the runway gradient rose ahead. The aircraft became airborne but assumed an increasingly nose-up attitude. The stall warning sounded, and the aircraft began sinking in a high nose-up attitude, drifting left. The pilot later stated he retracted the flaps in an attempt at stall recovery. The aircraft passed over the left boundary of the airstrip and impacted a hedgerow (an earth bank about 1.25 meters high encased in a 2-meter hedge) located 550 meters from the runway start. The left wing struck the hedgerow approximately 10° low. The aircraft continued through the hedge and impacted the ground in the next field in a nose-down attitude, then skidded about 42 meters, slewed right, and stopped.
Witness Observations
The owner's regular pilot, standing by the Cessna 182, observed much of the flight. He saw the aircraft rotate at the cross-track and climb with a progressively steepening pitch angle, reaching an estimated maximum height of about 100 feet. He then saw the aircraft descending with a very nose-up attitude, drifting left with the left wing low, and disappearing behind a left-side hedge at about 20 feet AGL. He reported no change in engine noise.
Other witnesses near the cross-track, including the owner, saw water spray as the aircraft passed the wet area, likening it to a car going through a flood. Some believed the aircraft was "struggling to get airborne and to climb away" and observed it heading toward the left side of the runway. Several witnesses moved back from their position due to concern. Some estimated the maximum altitude as approximately 30 feet.
Pilot's Account
The pilot, interviewed in hospital on the evening of the accident, stated that engine power appeared to "wind back" after take-off, and the aircraft subsequently stalled. He had no recollection of tracking left or significant water spray. In a later interview, he recalled the engine run-up was normal. He applied 50% power against brakes, then released brakes and progressively applied power, conscious of torque swing and engine temperature limits. He estimated engine torque at about 85% of maximum during the take-off run, which he considered normal. He was aware of the drift to the left and speculated that soft ground on the left side might have been dragging the aircraft. He believed the aircraft rotated at about 85 knots, with the left wheel close to the left edge. On initial climb, he reached for the undercarriage switch but noted a lack of climb performance, which he attributed to an engine problem. He estimated a maximum height of 150 to 200 feet. As the aircraft entered a high nose-up attitude with stall buffet and warning, he pushed the stick forward and raised the flaps, but stall buffet continued, the left wing dropped, and the aircraft lost height, striking the hedge slightly nose-up with the left wing low. The pilot stated that at rotation, the true horizon was obscured by the runway crest. He chose Flap 1 (12°) for take-off to become airborne before the cross-track if possible. He was also unfamiliar with the engine close-down procedure requiring a 2-minute idle to drain oil from hot section bearings.
Injuries
The pilot sustained head and back injuries, including two cracked vertebrae, and was hospitalized, later returning to the UK by air ambulance for further treatment. The female passenger in the rearward-facing seat suffered head and neck injuries (striking the cabin frame and window), a lumbar spine fracture, and multiple soft-tissue injuries. The male passenger (not further specified in the source) also suffered injuries; one passenger subsequently died as a consequence of injuries received in the accident.