Accident Overview
The pilot reported that the airplane did not gain sufficient airspeed during the takeoff roll. To avoid overrunning the runway onto a busy road, he lifted off when it reached rotation speed near the runway end. The airplane cleared the highway but struck trees on the far side, then descended to the ground, and a post-impact fire ensued.
Witness Observations
Witnesses who heard and saw the airplane taking off reported that the engine sounded strong, as if running at full power. One witness observed the airplane pitch up into a steep nose-up attitude, climb to an estimated altitude of 100 ft, then start settling, barely clearing streetlights along the side of a road. The airplane then began a slight roll to the left and struck trees. A large fireball erupted almost immediately upon impact with the trees. The climb and impact sequence were later verified by review of airport security camera video.
Runway Selection
The pilot contacted air traffic control (ATC) and requested to take off from a runway that was 2,700 ft in length, had an uphill gradient, and obstacles off the departure end. Additionally, the pilot did not use the entire runway for the takeoff; instead, he initiated the takeoff with 2,301 ft of runway available. The requested runway also resulted in him departing with a tailwind component of about 3 knots and an 11-knot crosswind component. The primary runway in use was 8,001 ft long and would have resulted in the airplane taking off downhill, with a headwind, and no obstacles off the departure end. The runway selected by the pilot was closer to his hangar than the available longer runway.
Weight and Balance
Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any evidence of preimpact failure of the engine or airplane that would have precluded normal operation. As the post-impact fire consumed many of the items onboard, the investigation was unable to establish the actual weight of the items loaded onto the airplane. However, the weights of the recovered cargo, in addition to the weights of the occupants (the pilot, his wife, and their dog), and the fuel onboard, indicated that, at a minimum, the total weight was in excess of the airplane’s maximum takeoff weight by about 14 pounds and the center of gravity (CG) was outside of the forward limit of the operating envelope. Based on this information, it is most likely that the overweight condition and exceedance of the CG limitations resulted in performance degradation that prevented the pilot from gaining sufficient airspeed and altitude to clear the trees off the end of the runway. The performance degradation was compounded by the pilot’s runway selection, which resulted in a takeoff tailwind component and obstacles.
Official Probable Cause
The official probable cause is the pilot's inadequate preflight planning, which resulted in a takeoff above the airplane’s maximum gross weight, a CG forward of the limit, and a tailwind component that prevented the airplane from climbing above trees.