Cessna 152 accident near Agua Dulce, California, June 20, 2014

The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record

The pilot and pilot-rated passenger had rented the airplane for a cross-country flight and landed at an airport. The left-seat pilot reported that during the takeoff roll, he didn't think the airplane was accelerating fast enough, so he "pulled the power" to abort the takeoff. He reported that at that point, the pilot-rated passenger took the controls, applied full power, and continued the takeoff. The airplane was climbing slowly, but the stall warning horn sounded, and the left-seat pilot thought the airplane was going to stall. He said he took the controls and pushed the nose of the airplane down to increase the airspeed. The main landing gear struck high-voltage power lines crossing their path, and the airplane descended and impacted the terrain, which resulted in substantial damage. The passenger said she did not remember taking the flight controls. She reported remembering the left-seat pilot "complaining" about the performance during the takeoff, reducing throttle (while still on the ground), and then reapplying power and continuing the takeoff. The departure runway had a 1.9% uphill slope, and the terrain off the end of the runway was rising. At the time of the accident, the calculated density altitude was 5,004 ft. An examination of the engine and airframe found no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. However, the carburetor heat was found in the "on" position, and the flaps were extended to 30°. It is likely that a combination of full-flap deflection and the high density altitude decreased the airplane's performance and engine horsepower output during takeoff from the upsloping runway, which adversely affected the climb rate.

The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.