At 10:45 PST, a Piper PA-46 crashed during takeoff from runway 09 at the Mammoth Lakes airport. Two occupants were seriously injured and two suffered only minor injuries. The airport manager said the aircraft took off prematurely and over-rotated to a nose high attitude. Shortly thereafter, the aircraft hit the ground tail first. The aircraft veered off the side of the 7,000-foot-long runway and came to rest on a taxiway. The pilot told the manager that he stalled on takeoff. Examination of the elevator trim tab and the elevator trim position indicator in the cockpit revealed a full nose up trim.
Nov. 4, Mammoth Lakes, Calif. / Piper PA-46 Malibu
At 10:45 PST, a Piper PA-46 crashed during takeoff from runway 09 at the Mammoth Lakes airport. Two occupants were seriously injured and two suffered only minor injuries. The airport manager said the aircraft took off prematurely and over-rotated to a nose high attitude. Shortly thereafter, the aircraft hit the ground tail first. The aircraft veered off the side of the 7,000-foot-long runway and came to rest on a taxiway. The pilot told the manager that he stalled on takeoff. Examination of the elevator trim tab and the elevator trim position indicator in the cockpit revealed a full nose up trim....
Key Takeaways:
- A Piper PA-46 crashed during takeoff from Mammoth Lakes airport, injuring all four occupants (two seriously, two minor).
- The aircraft prematurely took off, over-rotated to a nose-high attitude, and then hit the ground tail first, veering off the runway.
- Investigation revealed the elevator trim was set to full nose-up, which likely contributed to the pilot's reported stall on takeoff.
Key takeaways sponsored by Aviator Pro | Start Your Training ->
See a mistake? Contact us.
