This is a preliminary accident report from last years plane crash of 9-1-07 that killed five JW's who were flying on some KH regional building committee business in Tennessee. I wonder how the victim's families are doing.
9/1 (time not reported): A Be36, departing Elizabethton, Tennessee with five aboard, was unable to outclimb mountains on the pilot’s chosen heading and crashed into terrain, killing all five adults aboard. The Bonanza was “destroyed”. The NTSB preliminary report states: “Witnesses reported that the airplane landed at 0A9 on runway 06 at approximately 1001 hours, taxied to the south side of the airport, and without securing the engine, boarded 2 waiting passengers. The airplane was observed taxiing towards the approach end of runway 24, but an airplane was being towed on the taxiway at that time. The accident airplane turned around and taxied to the approach end of runway 06, [and] no engine run-up was heard before takeoff. The pilot began the takeoff roll from runway 06 with all available runway, and a pilot-rated witness located on the north side of the airport reported the airplane became airborne when it was 2/3 down the runway. The witness reported the airplane did not appear to be climbing very well and continued on the runway heading for approximately 1 mile.
”Another pilot-rated witness who was located approximately 1,500 feet east-northeast from the departure end of runway 06 reported that the airplane flew 200 yards behind his house between 75 and 100 feet above ground level (agl) or ‘exceptionally low.’ The airplane was in a steep climb attitude, flying slow with what he thought was the landing gear retracted; there was nothing unusual from the engine.” The Bonanza and the victims were eventually found at about the 3400-foot level on Holston Mountain. Weather at nearby Tri-Cities Airport (KTRI) at departure time was clear with visibility four miles in haze, with winds from 050° at three knots and a surface air temperature of 24°C (75°F). N326DK (E-2377) was a 1987 A36 registered since 2003 to an individual in Morristown, Tennessee.
(“Impact with obstacle following takeoff/unable to attain climb”; “Fatal”; “Aircraft destroyed”—A few observations: (1) the pilot appeared to be rushed. He did not shut down to board passengers, he did not wait for an airplane that was being towed to clear the runway, and he reportedly did not accomplish an engine run-up before takeoff [although the engine had remained running the whole time]. (2) With five aboard the airplane was heavily loaded, and may have been approaching [if not beyond] maximum weight and/or aft c.g. limit. Certainly on a hot day even if the heavy load was within the weight and balance envelope, it would very adverse impact takeoff and climb performance. (3) The pilot violated standard procedure. I’ve flown into 0A9 often, and the locals consider it a one-way airport because of terrain, i.e., take off on Runway 24 in almost all cases. Runway 6 aims directly at terrain that rises steeply immediately to the north and northeast, with several smaller hills blocking turns to the south to exit the one-way valley.)
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My analysis as a pilot: It appears that once the overloaded plane took off it was struggling to climb , and the mountains were rising faster than the pilot could climb. The higher hills on either side of the valley, prevented him from turning back. He had full throttle, but high temperatures and humidity and increasing altitude resulted in poor climb performance. In short, they were all doomed to crash with no way to escape the resulting accident once they took off.