What happened
During a takeoff roll on a 2,315-foot runway, the pilot of the aircraft initiated a rolling takeoff. Immediately after the aircraft type became airborne, the pilot encountered a loss of engine power. In an attempt to clear a 4-foot dike located at the end of the runway, the pilot retracted the landing gear. Following the clearance of the dike, the pilot began a gradual left turn, during which the left wing entered a stall.
Witnesses at the scene observed the aircraft in a high nose-up attitude and noted loud, continuous sounds coming from the engine and propeller. They observed the plane descending behind the dike, with the engine remaining audible until the moment the aircraft struck the river. There were 0 fatalities and 0 injuries reported in the immediate sequence of events described.
Findings
An operational inspection of the engine conducted after the accident revealed that the engine was performing at the recommended levels. However, performance data from the FAA indicated that at the specific takeoff weight and with a zero-degree flap setting, the aircraft type would have required 2,850 feet of runway to clear a 50-foot obstacle. This suggests that the insufficient runway length for the given weight and configuration contributed to the inability to clear obstacles safely.