PA-28 fatal crash near KCNY Moab, UT 10/1/2023

No matter what the final report comes up with the aircraft did not have the performance to execute the departure. It needed at least a 500 FPM climb rate to meet the climb per mile gradient published.
So in that case, you don't climb in a straight line. There's typically plenty of room around an airport to climb up to an altitude where the published climb gradient doesn't matter.
 
I live and fly in what are high density altitude conditions in the summer. I'm constantly aware of high DA and aircraft performance. I have also nearly killed myself once, and scared the crap out of myself a few times.

ADM and DA rarely seem clear cut. Sure, if your on a dirt strip at 8000 feet, you probably have no trouble making the right decision. But what about 3900 feet on a 95 degree day? Some might not even check the performance charts (of course this excludes all those on this board...). And then you forget about that 25lb bag of junk you left in the back. And after your run up, you push that mixture knob in all the way, like you normally do. And then, something seems wrong because that tiny hill that seemed in the distance when you started the takeoff roll is now growing in the windscreen...

This summer on a runway not far from home, I somehow managed to forget this fact until partway down a runway I should not be trying to take off from.

WTF? How did I make this mental error?

I remember some old saying about it taking seven years to make the same mistake, or something similar. I found a similar trend in my engineering career.

It's like you learn something, but then a bunch of time goes by, and you catch yourself making the same mistake you thought you had already learned.

So far, my occasionally repeated mistakes haven't killed me but when I read stories I can't help wonder if on this day, that could have been me.
 
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So in that case, you don't climb in a straight line. There's typically plenty of room around an airport to climb up to an altitude where the published climb gradient doesn't matter.
There is a procedure for that as mentioned in the airport remarks. Probably not a smart move at night however.
 
Prelim out:


No mechanical abnormalities found. Dark and moonless, we knew that. Sounds like they did not activate the runway lights, that’s interesting. Reads a lot like spatial D, could still in combination with weight and DA.
The black hole effect must have been considerable.

The preliminary report says the plane began a 180° turn immediately after takeoff, according to a pilot witness. It crashed moments later in terrain less than 40' higher than the runway.
 
The black hole effect must have been considerable.

The preliminary report says the plane began a 180° turn immediately after takeoff, according to a pilot witness. It crashed moments later in terrain less than 40' higher than the runway.
His initial heading for a direct flight home would have been 027, so turning 180 degrees after takeoff on runway 21 makes sense. "Immediately" could mean while still in ground effect, over the departure end of the runway, or just after crossing the airport fence. Even an anemic climb rate due to high density altitude, gross weight, and rich mixture should have got them more than 40 feet in relatively short order. There are definitely a few slices of cheese lining up in this one. :(
 
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