Colorado Springs Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Colorado Spring, Colorado 80916
Saturday, June 11, 2005 7:35 MDT

The airplane impacted terrain following the flight instructor and pilot's improper decision to continue the attempted high altitude takeoff when the best rate-of-climb airspeed (Vy) was not obtained, and failure to abort the takeoff. The instructor and private pilot receiving mountain flying instruction stated that, prior to takeoff, the run-up revealed no anomalies, the mixture setting was double checked, and the proper high altitude takeoff procedures were reviewed. The pilot said that he rotated at an airspeed of 70 knots after a ground roll of approximately 2500-3000 feet, which was consistent with their earlier performance calculations. The instructor said she was "looking outside to count runway stripes and to observe take-off profile" during the takeoff roll. The pilot reported holding the aircraft in ground effect to accelerate to the target speed of 96 knots. However, the airplane settled back to the runway, and lifted off again, at an airspeed of 80 knots. The airplane reached the end of the 11,021 foot runway at an altitude of approximately 150-200 feet, and an airspeed of 70-80 knots. As the airspeed began to decay, the pilot lowered the nose to avoid a stall. The pilot initiated an off-field landing with the aircraft touching down in a wings level attitude. Examination of the airframe and engine following the accident revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The takeoff performance chart for the airplane indicated that under the atmospheric conditions present at the time of the accident a ground roll of approximately 1,300 feet was required with no obstacle, and a distance of approximately 2,000 feet was required to takeoff and climb over a 50 foot obstacle . The calculated accelerate-stop distance, which was the distance required to takeoff and climb over a 50-foot obstacle and the distance required to land over a 50-foot obstacle, was approximately 3,500 feet. The calculated rate of climb was approximately 1,050 feet. The pilot stated in the accident prevention section of the NTSB accident report that he could have aborted the takeoff; however, the aborted takeoff may have incurred damage to the airplane.

the flight instructor and pilot's improper decision to continue the attempted high altitude takeoff when Vy airspeed was not obtained, and failure to abort the takeoff which resulted in an off-field landing and subsequent impact with terrain. A contributing factor was the flight instructor's inadequate supervision during the attempted high altitude takeoff.