The pilot was taking three friends on a local sightseeing flight. He calculated that the aircraft would be close to maximum all-up-weight and from the Aircraft Performance Chart, concluded that a strip length of 700 metres was required with 9 degrees flap selected. He had earlier used a vehicle to measure the ALA length as 900 metres. Witnesses reported that the aircraft became airborne about three quarters of the way along the strip, flew level for a time, and slowly drifted left before climbing sharply over a row of trees. At this point the left wing dropped so the pilot retracted the flap and applied right rudder. He did not retract the landing gear. The aircraft descended and struck the ground right aileron first before skidding left through some 140 degrees. The nose and right main landing gear were torn off. The investigation revealed that the aircraft was approximately 5 percent above maximum take-off weight. The Aircraft Peformance Chart indicated that for the prevailing conditions, the required strip length was 975 metres. The strip itself was 800 metres long. An inspection of the aircraft did not reveal any faults that may have contributed to the occurrence.
