Incident Overview
Date: Thursday 9 July 1981
Aircraft Type: Howard 500
Owner/operator: Kelowna Flightcraft Air Charter
Registration Number: C-GKFN
Location: Toronto International Airport, ON (YYZ) –
ÿ Canada
Phase of Flight: Take off
Status: Destroyed, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3
Component Affected: The aft centre of gravity.The aft centre of gravity.
Category: Accident
An aircraft experienced a sudden and uncontrolled nose-up pitch during takeoff, resulting in a catastrophic crash.An aircraft experienced a sudden and uncontrolled nose-up pitch during takeoff, resulting in a catastrophic crash.
Description
The aircraft suddenly pitched nose-up on takeoff, stalled and crashed. Presumably the aft centre of gravity limit was exceeded because the aircraft had been loaded with many parcels of various sizes and weights. This was probably aggravated by the fact that the CofG moves further aft when the landing gear is retracted on this type of aircraft.
Primary Cause
Excessive aft center of gravity (CofG) due to a high payload distribution, exacerbated by the aircraft’s tendency to move further aft during landing gear retraction.Excessive aft center of gravity (CofG) due to a high payload distribution, exacerbated by the aircraft’s tendency to move further aft during landing gear retraction.Share on:
