January 12, 2013, Sarasota, Fla., Seawind 3000 Experimental

At about 1529 Eastern time, the airplane was destroyed following a collision with trees and terrain shortly after takeoff. The commercial pilot and the pilot-rated passenger were fatally injured. Visual conditions prevailed. A witness watched the airplane take off, reporting the takeoff roll seemed longer than normal, and the airplane climbed slowly. As the airplane approached trees located past the runway, it “pancaked” into the trees without rolling right or left. He then saw a plume of smoke and realized the airplane had crashed.

Editorial Staff

Wednesday, February 20, 2013 at 12:00 AM ET

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Key Takeaways:

An airplane crashed into trees and terrain shortly after takeoff, resulting in the fatal injury of both the commercial pilot and a pilot-rated passenger.
Witnesses reported an abnormally long takeoff roll and slow climb before the airplane "pancaked" into trees past the runway.
This was the airplane's first flight since recent maintenance, which included replacing a fuel injector line and overhauling the propeller/governor, following a prior emergency landing in 2012 due to engine power loss.

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A witness watched the airplane take off, reporting the takeoff roll seemed longer than normal, and the airplane climbed slowly. As the airplane approached trees located past the runway, it “pancaked” into the trees without rolling right or left. He then saw a plume of smoke and realized the airplane had crashed. The airplane was consumed in a post-crash fire. According to local maintenance personnel, the airplane was involved in an emergency landing in September 2012, following a loss of engine power. According to the aircraft records, a fuel injector line was subsequently replaced because of a broken fitting. Also, the propeller and propeller governor were overhauled during maintenance unrelated to the engine problem. Reportedly, this was the first flight for the airplane since the maintenance work was completed.