Accidents
No Solid Clues Why Citation Didn’t Climb before Crash
Witness said the engines didn't sound normal on takeoff

An NTSB preliminary report released on Friday provides few clues as to why a Cessna Citation II failed to climb after takeoff and hit power lines before crashing, killing the pilot and passenger and injuring a person on the ground. The twinjet departed Runway 16 at Odessa-Schlemeyer Field Airport in Odessa, Texas, on August 20 on a planned IFR Part 91 flight to Houston Ellington Field. Weather was day VMC with a calm wind from the south.

The report cites a pilot witness who said the airplane’s engines at takeoff sounded “unusual.” He saw the twinjet as it flew near-level down the last one-third of the 5,003-foot-long runway at about 10 feet agl. The airplane crossed a road then collided with power lines and a restaurant before stopping about 150 yards south before a post-impact fire consumed most of the Citation.