Flight History
The pilot had flown one flight leg earlier in the day before stopping at an intermediate airport to purchase fuel on the way to his home base. A surveillance video recording from the fueling airport showed the airplane land and taxi to the self-serve fuel pump. The engines were shut down for about 10 minutes while the airplane was fueled.
After fueling, the pilot had difficulty starting both engines over several minutes. Once the engines were running, the airplane taxied to the runway. It did not appear to stop for an engine run-up. The pilot performed a rolling takeoff, and the airplane lifted off after a ground roll of about 2,100 ft, which was slightly more than half the available runway length.
Power Loss and Descent
A passenger reported that after liftoff, at an altitude of about 50 to 100 ft above ground level (agl), both engines lost partial power and began “stuttering.” This condition continued for the remainder of the flight. The engines did not stop, but they were “not producing full RPM.” The airplane drifted left of the runway centerline, which a witness described as a left yawing motion. The pilot corrected the drift and flew the runway heading over the grass on the left side of the runway; however, the airplane would not climb.
After crossing the end of the runway, the pilot pitched the airplane up to avoid obstacles. Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) data indicated that the airplane climbed from about 20 to 120 ft agl in a gradual left turn. During this time, the groundspeed decreased from about 80 knots to about 69 knots. The altitude then decreased to about 50 ft agl, the groundspeed decreased to about 66 knots, and the left turn decreased in radius until the recorded data ended about 100 ft west of the accident site.
Accident
The airplane descended and impacted a house. Witness descriptions of the airplane yawing to the left while over the runway and again during its final left turn suggest that the loss of engine power may not have been symmetric (that is, one engine may have suffered more of a loss than the other).