Pace
I don't want to speculate about the cause of the accident - but yes it's the rearward CofG which tends to put the aircraft out of limits. I would have to check the figures carefully, but it is not always the weight, per se, that causes the problem but the CofG issue.
Weight and balance is the one element of flight training I have always rammed down the throats of my students.
For some reason it is always the bete noire of flying training with students. Either they can't be bothered due to an over-eagerness to 'get flying' or for some bizarre reason think it only applies whilst they're training!
I'm not speculating on this accident, but if this Thread can serve a flight safety purpose by reminding people of some Golden Rules regarding loading of light aircraft then, perhaps, some good can come of it?
Remember if you're flying a '4-seater', it will be unusual to get 4 people and full fuel in the tanks and still be within weight and balance limits.
ALWAYS get a copy of the Loading Schedule from the Flight Manual or CURRENT Weight and Balance Schedule for the aircraft you intend to fly. Copy it and use it (as a rule) if you intend flying with more than 2 persons on board. As a general rule 4-seaters will not be overloaded with 2 persons on board and full fuel - but don't take my word for it -CHECK!!!
I always gave my students a copy of the weight and balance schedule and/or graph as a part of a type conversion course and explained the potential dangers to them of an incorrectly loaded aeroplane.
A simple method (particularly if you fly the same aircraft regularly) is to do a 'residual' weight and balance calculation. In other words work out how much 'spare' capacity there is after taking into account the weight of the aircraft prepared for service, full fuel and your own weight PLUS BAGS ETC. Then you will see what is left. Do a calculation of CofG and that will give you a means of assessing the allowable weight of any additional passengers. Alarm bells should start to ring if you suspect you will be over the limits - but ALWAYS do the final calculation and check - it takes 5 minutes and could cost you a lifetime if you don't!!!
Read the CAA Safety Safety leaflets - safety is not an accident!!!
I have had one of two 'near do's' in my flying career due to weight issues. Not because I was over-weight but because the aircraft did not respond as expected. One experience was grass airfield, no wind, hot day (27 degrees in the UK!) and three on board a Piper PA28-140. We just got airborne by the end of the runway - even after all my calculations - and nearly wiped out myself and my mother and father. If I had crashed the accident would have been hard to explain because, technically, nothing was wrong. With hindsight and several thousand more flying hours under my belt I hope I would have aborted the take-off if it happened now. Back then with only a couple of hundred hours I pressed on - because after all I'd checked the weight and balance AND the performance and the aeroplane MUST fly. Well it almost didn't. Another 'I Learn't About Flying From That' incident!
Always plan for and expect the unexpected.
Fly safely
KR
FOK