Sequence of events
On 22 June 2003, a Cessna Aircraft Company 172M, registered
VH-TUR, drifted to the right shortly after take off from runway 35
at Wedderburn airfield in NSW and impacted the ground to the
north-east of the airfield. The aircraft was destroyed and the four
occupants were fatally injured.
The pilot held a valid Private Pilot Licence (aeroplane) and
current class 2 medical certificate. There was no evidence that any
physiological or psychological factors had affected the pilot's
performance.
A witness at the airfield videoed the aircraft as it took off.
Examination of the video revealed that the aircraft became airborne
after a take-off roll of about 500 m, with 10 degrees of wing flap
extended. As it climbed, the aircraft drifted to the right, and
entered a right-wing-low sideslip with a nose-up attitude.
Witnesses at the airfield observed the aircraft between gaps in the
trees to the north-east of the airfield banked to the right in a
steep descent and then heard the sound of an impact.
Runway 35 was 1,000 m long and sloped down slightly to the
north. The first half of the runway was bitumen and the second half
was a mix of hard clay/gravel. Trees about 10 m high surrounded the
runway, and sheltered it during crosswind conditions. At the time
of the accident, the wind was gusting from the south-west.
The investigation found that the aircraft had been descending
steeply in a right turn when it impacted the ground in a westerly
direction. Data recovered from a global positioning system found in
the wreckage supported other evidence, which indicated that the
aircraft entered a spin during a right turn after take-off.
Examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of pre-existing
mechanical defects that may have contributed to the accident. The
wing flaps were in the 10 degrees extended position at the time of
the accident. The aircraft stall warning system was recovered from
the wreckage, tested and found serviceable. The aircraft had
sufficient fuel onboard for the planned flight.
An assessment of the aircraft weight indicated that it was
approximately 30 kg above maximum allowable take-off weight, and
the centre of gravity was calculated to have been towards the aft
limit of its normal centre of gravity range. That extra weight
would have increased the aircraft stall speed by 1.4% (less than 1
kt), and reduced its climb performance slightly.
Wedderburn was an uncontrolled airfield. It was normal procedure
at uncontrolled airfields to maintain runway heading after take-off
until the aircraft had reached a height of 500 ft above the
airfield, and then to turn left.
As the aircraft climbed out of the shielding effect of the trees
beside the runway, the crosswind from the left would have increased
markedly. If the aircraft was continuing to climb as it turned to
the right, it would have then been in an increasing tailwind. An
increasing tailwind will lead to a momentary reduction in aircraft
indicated airspeed. The wind was also strong and gusting, and if
there had been a wind gust at the same time, it would have caused a
greater momentary reduction in aircraft indicated airspeed.
When an aircraft turns away from the wind, at low level, the
groundspeed increases. In such circumstances, the view of the
ground accelerating below an aircraft may give an illusion of an
increased airspeed. For any given nose attitude, an aircraft will
fly slower if wing flaps are extended. With 10 degrees of wing flap
extended, the aircraft was therefore flying at a lower airspeed in
the climb than if the wing flaps had been retracted, if the same
attitude was maintained. The aircraft's climb performance would
also have been reduced by using 10 degrees of wing flap, compared
with using no wing flap. The aircraft take-off performance data in
the aircraft operating handbook indicated take-off performance with
wing flap retracted, and provided information that 10 degrees of
wing flap should be used for take off from a soft surface.
The amount of aerodynamic lift produced by a wing in flight can
be changed by a pilot in a number of ways. If the speed of the air
flowing over the wing is increased, aerodynamic lift normally
increases. The shape of the wing can be changed to an extent by
moving the control surfaces, which adjusts the amount of
aerodynamic lift. The angle at which the airflow impinges on the
wing can be adjusted, which will also change the aerodynamic lift.
This angle is known as the angle of attack. In normal flight, if
the angle of attack is increased, the aerodynamic lift is also
increased, up to a certain angle of attack known as the stalling
angle. In contrast, if the angle of attack is increased beyond that
stalling angle, the amount of aerodynamic lift decreases. An
aircraft flown at a greater angle of attack than the stall angle is
commonly described as being aerodynamically 'stalled'.
In steady flight there is a relationship between speed and the
angle of attack of the wing. The stall speed is the speed at which
the angle of attack coincides with the stall angle for a given
configuration.
One effect of flap extension is to increase the relative pitch
angle (incidence) between the wing and the fuselage. As a result,
in steady flight, an aircraft with flaps extended will fly at a
lower speed than one at the same attitude with flaps retracted. If
the aircraft was flown at the normal flapless climb attitude, but
with 10 degrees of flap extended, it would fly at a lower airspeed.
The additional drag produced by the flap extension would also have
reduced the climb performance. The aircraft would also have stalled
at a lower nose attitude when 10 degrees of wing flap was extended,
compared with when the wing flap was retracted.
An aircraft's stall speed increases by a factor of the square
root of the secant of the angle of bank, all other things being
equal. The aircraft was in a gentle turn at the time the stall
occurred. The wing is generally less effective at producing
aerodynamic lift when an aircraft is flown out of balance. There is
also an increased likelihood of one wing stalling before the other
leading to a roll input at the onset of the stall. The accident
aircraft had been flown out of balance shortly before the onset of
the stall, but it was not known if it was out of balance at the
onset of the stall.
The aircraft was observed flying slowly during its climb after
takeoff. If the aircraft's airspeed became sufficiently slow in a
steady climb, the aircraft would stall. The circumstances were
consistent with the aircraft entering a stall and a spin at a
height from which it was considered impossible to recover. Some or
all of the following factors could have contributed to the aircraft
entering a stall:
- The aircraft exceeded the maximum allowable take off weight,
which would reduce its climb performance - The aircraft was climbing into an increasing tailwind, which
would create a momentary reduction in airspeed - The wind was gusting, which could have created a further
momentary reduction in airspeed - The takeoff was downwind, which would have led to a higher
groundspeed that would give an illusion of higher airspeed. The
pilot may have compensated for this illusion by raising the
aircraft's nose - The aircraft was turned away from the wind at low level, which
could have led to an illusion of increasing airspeed. The pilot may
have compensated for this illusion by raising the aircraft's
nose - The aircraft was flown out of balance for parts of the flight,
which would have reduced its performance - The use of 10 degrees of wing flap would have reduced its climb
performance, and meant that the aircraft would have been flying
slower for any given nose attitude.