Departure and Incident
On a hot and muggy afternoon, a pilot with 204 total flight hours departed runway 17 at Llano Municipal Airport (AQO) with a single passenger. Prior to departure, the pilot filled the left fuel tank and noted that the right tank contained approximately 7 gallons of fuel. After reaching an altitude of 50 to 75 feet above the ground, the pilot reported that the engine began to lose power, causing the airplane to settle back toward the ground. The airplane subsequently came to rest inverted beyond the departure end of the runway.
Weight and Density Altitude Conditions
The density altitude at the time of the incident was calculated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge to be 3,967 feet. The aircraft was within a few pounds of its maximum takeoff weight of 1,560 pounds.
Post-Incident Engine Examination
On July 13, 2005, the engine was examined by a representative of the engine manufacturer under the supervision of the NTSB investigator-in-charge. The engine was successfully operated for approximately five minutes at various power settings. When run at full throttle, the engine produced approximately 2,200 rpm, and an additional 150 rpm was gained by leaning the fuel mixture. According to the Type Certificate Data Sheet, the minimum static rpm at full power is specified as 2,150 rpm.