Beechcraft C23 N67013

Summary

On 4 March 2021 at about 20:10 local time, a Beechcraft C23 registered N67013 was involved in an accident near Purcellville, Virginia, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

4 March 2021 at 20:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Purcellville, Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Krens Farm (14VA)

Coordinates

39.2305, -77.7483

Aircraft

Beechcraft C23

Registration

N67013

Category

Airplane

Year built

1979

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Weyers Cave

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA21FA148

1 person died.

The pilot's improper decision to depart from the short turf runway with a tailwind.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was attempting to depart from a 1,900-ft-long turf runway, and customarily would depart toward the south as the runway sloped downhill in that direction (a total elevation change of about 50 feet). A witness described that, during the takeoff, the airplane was departing with a tailwind. The wind conditions at the closest weather reporting station about 13 nautical miles away indicated that a right quartering tailwind likely prevailed, with a right crosswind component of 21 knots and a tailwind component of 12 knots, gusting to 14 knots. The airplane subsequently impacted the tops of trees about 300 feet beyond and to the left of the runway departure end, and continued about 300 feet farther before coming to rest. Postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of any preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The takeoff performance chart for the airplane indicated that a ground roll of 1,236 ft was required on a grass surface, and 2,068 ft was needed to clear a 50-ft obstacle. The chart did not contain a correction factor for a takeoff with a tailwind, which would require a longer ground roll and takeoff distance. With the available runway distance of 1,900 ft, the pilot would have been operating the airplane near the limits of its performance capability before accounting for the additional distance required due to the prevailing tailwind. Given this information, it is likely that the pilot’s decision to depart in the gusting tailwind conditions resulted in an inflight collision with trees during the initial climb.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.