On Nov. 6, 2007, a King Air crashed seconds after a low-visibility takeoff from 26L at Chino, Calif., (KCNO). The NTSB’s typically terse probable cause determination of the accident—”… the pilot’s failure to maintain a positive climb rate during an instrument takeoff …”—provides few clues as to what led the 3100-hour commercial pilot to mow the tops of nearby trees on his brief climb-out.
A recovered data chip shows the aircraft climbed no more than a few hundred feet before descending, with no evidence of engine or flight control system failure. At impact, however, the plane had veered to a 300-degree ground track from that of the departure Runway 26L.
