Originally Posted by
Pilot DAR
[...] On the airspeed alive call, control wheel pressed gently forward, and the tail coming up at about 40 knots. Power set and confirmed by 50 knots, and aircraft gently rotated off the runway at the bug speed of 82 knots.
Directional control and pitch attitude control are not really related during takeoff. If the accident aircraft had a directional deviation, it would still have had a better outcome were the tail to be up, and the aircraft at flying speed before being allowed to become airborne...
I agree with your analysis,
Pilot DAR. Whether the a/c had left the side of the paved runway or not, any attempt to use the locked tail-wheel to regain directional control by deliberately lowering the tail again would have been unnecessary and inappropriate. The rudder is very effective with the tail up, although PIO can be a problem.
That said, what puzzles me most is why, if things were going so badly wrong that the tail could not be lifted, the take-off was not simply aborted.