Accident Overview
An aircraft on a takeoff run struck two cattle that suddenly appeared from sloping ground on the left of the strip. The pilot attempted to lift off to avoid a collision, but the plane adopted a steep nose-high attitude, causing the tail cone to hit the ground before striking the animals.
Sequence of Events
The impact caused the aircraft's elevators to separate from the airframe. The calculated ground speed at that point was 71 mph. The aircraft overran the sloping end of the airstrip. It was thought that the pilot, unaware of the loss of the elevators, attempted to continue the takeoff rather than trying to stop in the limited distance available on the sloping runway. The plane lofted out of control for 264 feet (80 meters) before striking the ground at an angle of 70 degrees, then sliding another 66 feet (20 meters). The aircraft was wrecked and a fire broke out in the engine bay, fed by the gradual discharge of fuel from fractured outlets of the wing tanks.
Rescue Efforts and Aftermath
The loader driver and two others quickly reached the scene. The only fire extinguisher available, a 20-pound (9 kg) foam type, was used in an effort to blanket the pilot, whose leg was trapped, from the flames. Three other persons who had been working nearby arrived and assisted by bringing water from a pond close by. These commendable efforts were insufficient to quell the blaze, and the pilot had suffered severe burns before he was finally removed from the wreckage. Pilot William George Jackson Deller died as a result of his injuries.
Probable Cause
The probable cause of the accident was a ground collision with cattle during takeoff.