TRIM: Pilot didn't set trim properly for takeoff

摘要

HISTORY OF THE FLIGHT: On December 31, 2019, about 1606 central standard time, a Mooney M20S airplane was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Olathe, Kansas. The pilot and the passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Part 91 personal flight. A witness reported that he observed the accident at Johnson County Executive Airport (OJC), Olathe, Kansas. He said the accident pilot and a passenger flew in from Little Rock, Arkansas, to view an airplane that was for sale. The witness saw the pilot before he took off and observed "nothing out of the ordinary" regarding the pilot's behavior and "no red flags" with respect to the pilot's actions. The witness watched them take off for a return flight to their home base; he did not notice anything out of the ordinary on the airplane's initial rollout. He indicated that, during the engine power-up, "all" sounded and looked normal. However, he noticed that the airplane rotated at a much slower speed than would be expected and immediately started to climb at a very high pitch attitude. The witness reported that as the airplane gained altitude, it appeared to fly slower to the point that the left wing stalled, "causing the [air]plane to nose over and continue its trajectory straight into the ground just east of the runway." The witness stated that the engine power was "on" throughout the entire flight with no odd sounds noted.