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Date: Mon, 03 Sep 2007 13:00:00 -0400
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From: Hamid Wasti <hwasti@lm50.com>
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Subject: Re: [LML] Density Altitude Crash
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Steve Colwell wrote:
> My guess is he lifted off in ground effect, with the stall horn blareing he
> did not have enough runway to abort, then added just a little elevator to
> clear the hill at the end of the runway.  I understand the pilot was a
> professional with many hours.

According to several people who analyzed the engine sound on the video 
using the utility http://tunelab-world.com/rpmsound.html the engine was 
  turning at about 2250 RPM and not 2700 RPM (after supposedly 
correcting for doppler effects). I do not know enough about the 
technology used for compressing audio data for posting to the internet 
to know if the numbers are accurate or if there is aliasing going on due 
to compression. The investigators will have access to the raw tape and 
will be able to determine the RPM accurately.

The video clearly shows no flaps being used.  Is that normal for the 
aircraft and the conditions?  While it appears incorrect to me, I do not 
have the POH, which will have the final word.  If the flaps were 
supposed to be down and the pilot "forgot" then that leads to whole lot 
of questions about pilot performance; either general attitude or 
performance that particular day. Let me reiterate that this point is 
applicable only IF the POH called for flaps.

According to published weather, there was a 5 knot tail wind.  That 
certainly did not help.

I do not know the W&B for the particular year/model, but the question of 
being over gross has to be considered. Several sources have quoted the 
useful load for the model year as less than 1100 lbs, while others have 
quoted several hundred pounds higher. Four adults, baggage for a Mexico 
vacation and enough fuel to make it there will most probably add up to 
more than 1100 pounds, maybe quite a bit more.

What is indisputable is that the pilot will have a really rough time of 
it recovering from this.

Regards,

Hamid