What happened
During the takeoff roll, a group of cattle emerged from rising terrain on the left side of the airstrip and ran across the path of the aircraft. In an effort to prevent a direct collision with the animals, the pilot initiated a rotation, causing the aircraft type to assume a steep nose-high pitch. This maneuver resulted in the tail cone making contact with the ground before the plane struck the livestock.
The impact with the animals caused the elevators to detach from the airframe. At the time of the incident, the aircraft was traveling at a ground speed of 71 mph. Following the collision, the plane overran the sloped end of the runway and became airborne in an uncontrolled manner, traveling approximately 264 feet before impacting the ground at a 70-degree angle and sliding an additional 66 feet.
The crash triggered a fire in the engine compartment, which was intensified by fuel leaking from damaged wing tank outlets. While bystanders attempted to use a small foam extinguisher to protect the pilot from the flames, the fire could not be contained. The pilot, who was trapped in the wreckage, sustained severe burns and subsequently succumbed to his injuries. There was 1 fatality.
Findings
It is believed that the pilot, not realizing the elevators had been lost during the initial impact with the cattle, attempted to continue the takeoff procedure instead of performing an immediate emergency stop on the limited runway surface available.