Beechcraft 23 N2378Z

Summary

On 1 May 2021 at about 14:25 local time, a Beechcraft 23 registered N2378Z was involved in an accident near Hutchinson, Kansas, United States. 4 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

1 May 2021 at 14:25

Classification

Accident

Location

Hutchinson, Kansas, United States

Nearest airport

Hutchinson Regional Airport (HUT)

Coordinates

38.0662, -97.8605

Aircraft

Beechcraft 23

Registration

N2378Z

Category

Airplane

Year built

1962

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN21LA208

2 people had minor injuries.

The pilot’s failure to abort the takeoff and his high pitch attitude after takeoff, which resulted in an exceedance of the critical angle of attack and a subsequent aerodynamic stall.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that during takeoff on the 4,012-ft-long runway, the airplane seemed to accelerate slowly and use a greater amount of runway than normal. After liftoff, the airplane would not accelerate and climbed very slowly. The pilot turned the airplane toward the right, and it began to lose altitude. The airspeed decreased, and the airplane stalled about 20 to 30 ft above the ground. The airplane then impacted the ground. Postaccident examination of the airplane and engine did not reveal any mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Takeoff performance data from the airplane’s flight manual showed that the airplane should have been about 50 ft above the ground when it was 2,281 ft down the runway. Given the length of the runway, the pilot had the opportunity to safely abort the takeoff when he realized that the airplane was not accelerating normally and not achieving its expected takeoff performance. However, the pilot continued the takeoff and likely raised the nose of the airplane to a high pitch and high drag attitude in an attempt to gain altitude. The high pitch attitude placed the airplane close to the critical angle of attack, and when the airplane entered a turn, it experienced an aerodynamic stall and descended to ground impact.  

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.