Accident Overview
On the day of the accident, a private pilot participating in the Angel Flight volunteer program arrived at the accident airport to transport a passenger who had received medical treatment at a local hospital. The airplane had landed on runway 30 at about 0937, when winds were from 073-080 degrees at 5-6 knots. After meeting the passengers, the pilot departed the terminal about 1003, at which time winds had increased to 101-103 degrees at 23-36 knots. About 1005, as the airplane neared the approach end of runway 30, winds were from 089-096 degrees at 21-31 knots.
Sequence of Events
The pilot began rotating the airplane approximately 3,000 feet down the 3,900-foot runway. About 1006, the airplane was approximately 3,553 feet down the runway and flying about 30 feet above the ground. At that point, the airplane experienced an aerodynamic stall, and the left wing dropped before the airplane impacted the ground. No mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation were found during the investigation.
Passenger Restraint
The airplane carried three occupants: the pilot, an adult passenger, and a 2-year-10-month-old child. The child was held by her mother during the flight, as had been done on previous Angel Flights, but was otherwise unrestrained. According to 14 CFR 91.107(3), each person on board a U.S.-registered civil aircraft must occupy an approved seat with a safety belt properly secured during takeoff; only unrestrained children under the age of 2 may be held by a restrained adult. The child was above that age threshold. An autopsy determined the cause of death to be blunt force trauma of the head. The accident was survivable: the pilot and adult passenger survived with non-life-threatening injuries.
Probable Cause
The official probable cause of the accident was the pilot's improper decision to depart with a preexisting tailwind and failure to abort the takeoff. Contributing to the severity of the injuries was the failure to properly restrain the child passenger as required by FAA regulations.