History of Flight
On 8 February 2013, the pilot conducted a 36-minute VFR flight to VOR AFI (Affligem) and returned to EBCI (Charleroi South Brussels Airport). The last recorded flight before that was on 21 August 2012. The pilot parked the aircraft approximately 200 meters from the security control building to facilitate passenger transfer the next day. During parking, the ground controller inquired about an unusual left turn; the pilot replied that the right-hand brake needed adjustment. The pilot then requested refueling to fill all five fuel tanks with JET A fuel.
On 9 February 2013, at 08:45 UTC, the airplane took off from runway 25. Witnesses observed the airplane deviating left of the runway axis at low speed with an unusual nose-up attitude. It entered a climbing left turn, appearing to circle back toward the airport. The pilot declared to the control tower, "I have a problem, I'm trying to land." The airplane was given priority and continued climbing slowly in a short left-hand circuit at low speed. About one minute after lift-off, the airplane approached the airport unstable at low speed. After turning left across the runway, the pilot lowered the landing gear while flying parallel to the right side of runway 25. Shortly afterward, the airplane entered a left-hand spin and collided nearly vertically with the ground.
Injuries and Damage
All five occupants were killed. The aircraft was destroyed.
Causes
The investigation determined the probable cause: The pilot's failure to achieve the required best-angle-of-climb airspeed after lift-off resulting in a nose up flight at low speed, close to the stall speed. The airplane flew unstable on the back side of the power curve having as consequence a loss of control during an attempt to land and subsequent collision with terrain.