N18873 – Beech 23 – 2020-06-27 NTSB Accident Report

On June 27, 2020, a Beech 23 (N18873) was involved in an accident near Davenport, IA. The accident resulted in 2 minor injuries, with 1 person uninjured out of 3 aboard. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this accident to be: The pilot's failure to properly configure the airplane for takeoff, which resulted in the exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack, an aerodynamic stall, and subsequent impact with terrain.

The pilot was taking off and had begun to climb out when the airplane's right wing dropped. The pilot responded by pushing the airplane's nose over but the wing struck the runway and the airplane subsequently impacted terrain causing substantial damage to the fuselage. A postaccident examination of the airframe by Federal Aviation Administration aviation safety inspectors found the airplane's elevator trim was configured in a nose up setting for a landing profile. The pilot reported there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe and engine that would have precluded normal operation.

This accident is documented in NTSB report CEN20CA253. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N18873.