Flight Details
The owner/student pilot flew from her home airport to an airstrip she had visited previously. The departure, flight, and landing in the tailwheel-equipped airplane were uneventful. After shutdown at the destination airport, the pilot refueled by topping off both 18-gallon wing tanks.
Accident Sequence
The pilot initiated her departure from the dirt/turf runway, which measured 3,000 feet by 130 feet. According to the pilot, the airplane's main landing gear bungee cords had recently been replaced and were significantly stiffer than the old ones, causing the airplane to bounce more than she was accustomed to on the dirt strip. At some point, the airplane bounced up off the runway, and the pilot pulled the control stick aft in order to remain airborne and fly away. The airplane began to veer to the left, and the pilot was unable to control or correct that turn. She applied more back pressure to climb over a hangar in her path and attempted to climb over the trees beyond the hangar. However, the airplane struck the trees and descended rapidly into a small clearing about 1,300 feet down the runway and about 400 feet from the runway centerline, where it stopped. Fire broke out almost immediately, but the pilot was able to exit through a cabin door. Much of the fabric-covered airplane and its contents were consumed by the fire.
Pilot Report
In her accident form provided to the National Transportation Safety Board, the pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane. She reported that winds were light and variable at the time. She also concluded that the airplane became airborne prematurely due to the bounce, and that she should have forced the airplane back onto the ground until it obtained sufficient speed for flight.