The cause of a fatal take-off accident at Shellharbour Airport last October, in which a Piper Lance's horizontal stabilator moved to a full or near-full nose-up position and remained there for the entire flight, could not be determined, an ATSB final report has found.
Three people—a pilot and two passengers—were fatally injured when the Piper PA-32R-300 Cherokee Lance, registered VH-JVA, collided with terrain shortly after take-off on 11 October 2025. The aircraft was departing for a planned private flight to Bathurst.
CCTV footage and witness photographs showed the horizontal stabilator moved to a full or near-full nose-up position during the take-off roll and remained there throughout the flight. After a ground roll of 410 metres on runway 26, the aircraft abruptly pitched up, yawed left, and became airborne in a nose-high attitude while skidding and rolling left. It reached a maximum height of around 50 ft before descending and colliding with terrain at the threshold of the intersecting runway 34.
ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell said investigators were unable to establish what caused the stabilator deflection despite extensive examination.
"Despite our extensive efforts, there wasn't sufficient evidence available to us to make findings as to what caused the sustained pitch up of the horizontal stabilator, well beyond the normal control inputs required for take-off rotation and climbing flight," he said.
The investigation found the stabilator trim was correctly set, examination of the flight control and trim systems identified no pre-accident defects, and the anti-servo tab position indicated it was operating correctly. Neither control seat slid rearward, and there was no evidence of intentional or inadvertent pilot or passenger input, a medical episode, animal strike, environmental influence, or an autopilot fault — the aircraft was not equipped with an autopilot servo on the stabilator.
The left yaw and rolling tendency observed in footage was consistent with propeller slipstream effects on the vertical stabiliser at high power and low speed, with photographs showing the rudder maintained in a neutral position rather than being used to correct the left-turning tendency. Right aileron input and a reduction in engine power just before impact indicated attempts to correct the flightpath.
Mitchell noted that pilots are not typically trained for an uncommanded pitch-up during take-off, describing it as an unexpected and challenging situation that, if not rapidly corrected, can lead to a stall and loss of control.
The final report is available here.