The airplane was substantially damaged during a forced landing after takeoff. The private pilot/owner and a passenger were fatally injured; a pilot-rated passenger was seriously injured. Visual conditions prevailed.
Witnesses described the takeoff roll as “slow” and “anemic.” The airplane used almost the entire 4222-foot runway before it took off. Moments later, a large smoke plume appeared out of the trees a short distance beyond the airport boundary. Preliminary FAA radar data revealed the airplane climbed to 200 feet msl and accelerated to 63 knots groundspeed before the radar target was lost.
