Flight History
On Sunday, 17 July 2022, a Cessna 175B aircraft with registration ZS-CPO operated by African Wings was on a commercial sightseeing flight under Part 135 of the South African Civil Aviation Regulations. The flight departed from Weltevrede Aerodrome, an unlicensed airstrip near Stanford, Western Cape Province, at approximately 1300Z. The pilot, a 21-year-old commercial pilot with 206.9 total flying hours (81.6 on type), had three passengers on board.
The aircraft had been refuelled twice earlier that day, with a total of 40 litres of Avgas on board. At 1255Z, the passengers boarded, and the pilot started the engine and taxied to Runway 11 (easterly direction). The windsock indicated wind from the south, which resulted in a downwind take-off. A passenger recorded the take-off on a cell phone.
During the take-off roll, the pilot rotated the aircraft, but the stall warning horn sounded immediately and persisted. The left wing dropped, and the aircraft banked left despite the pilot's aileron inputs. Shortly after, the aircraft struck powerlines, causing a blue flash, then impacted pine trees before coming to rest upright with a right wing-low attitude.
Injuries and Damage
The three passengers sustained injuries: one was seriously injured and transported by ambulance to a hospital; the other two suffered cuts and bruises and drove themselves to a hospital. The pilot was not injured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.
Probable Cause
The pilot took off downwind and, in so doing, could not allow the aircraft to accelerate to its rotation speed as he was running out of runway. He prematurely rotated the aircraft and stalled it (from the video footage, the stall warning sounded the entire time following rotation until impact with the powerlines) and, as a result, he lost control and the aircraft crashed on the neighbouring farm.