N67754

On March 25, 2000, at 1145 central standard time, a Taylorcraft DC-65, N67754, operated by a commercial pilot, collided with trees and the terrain during an aborted landing from a private airstrip 3 miles northwest of Joplin, Missouri. The pilot received serious injuries and the passenger on board was not injured. The airplane was substantially damaged. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated from Aurora, Missouri, at 1115 cst.

The pilot reported the airplane touched down about 1/3 the way down the 1,500 foot long, grass airstrip. He said the airplane bounced and he noticed the airspeed was higher than 55 miles per hour (mph) which he had established on final approach. He reported, "I could see we could not get stopped before the end. I immediately applied full power and established the best climb possible. The climb was very slow with two people aboard and I first clipped a small branch on the belly of the fuselage and thought we had made it but right away struck a larger part of a tree and it caught the wing and skewed us in a flat turning motion just beyond the trees where we struck the ground landing gear first."

The pilot had purchased the airplane a couple days prior to the accident. He reported the airplane had been restored in 1990. According to the pilot, the flight manual showed a stall speed of 45 mph, approach/departure speed of 55 mph, and a best cruise speed of 83 mph at 2150 rpm. He reported his climb speed on takeoff from Aurora was 55 mph, and his cruise speed during the flight was 75 mph at 2150 rpm.