Narrative:

I was the pilot in command and only occupant. My initial radio call to tower ('permission to start engine and ready to copy clearance.') resulted in an unintelligible response. I radioed back and received no response. After several more transmissions; I received no response other than one 'testing; 1; 2; 3' on the frequency and some double clicks. Finally; I received a response giving me my clearance and permission to start engines. My clearance was 'as filed; 10;000 ft; 2;000 ft initially.' no squawk code or frequency was provided. Given the multiple non responses; it is unclear if the receiver in the tower was consistently working. There was an approximate 600 ft ceiling; 2 mile visibility; and other aircraft on approach (i.e.; at low altitude) requested deviation due to weather. After takeoff; my aircraft experienced downdrafts to 1;000 FPM; indicating a microburst. Given the emergency situation; I applied maximum power to avoid impact with terrain. Keeping the plane out of the trees demanded that I focus on flying the plane and I could not focus attention on the radio at the same time. (There was no second pilot to manage the radio.) while I believe I attempted to reach tower (with the intention of requesting higher and declaring an emergency); I do not recall the specifics of my communication attempt and I do not recall hearing a response. Under these circumstances; in order to increase my chances of survival; I believed it necessary to start my climb to my final clearance of 10;000 ft. I eventually tried departure frequency (which I had previously obtained from the approach plates for the airport). Departure responded that tower was attempting to contact me. I switched and was able to communicate; and advised that I had climbed to 4;000 ft given that I had nearly stalled in a microburst. I was subsequently cleared to 10;000 ft. I proceeded without further incident to submit a report to ATC; which I did within about 48 hours. Contributing factors: 1) flight into embedded thunderstorm in IMC. 2) poor communication. To avoid recurrence: 1) when flying an aircraft with limited climb performance; I will avoid IMC takeoffs in order to avoid embedded thunderstorms. This is particularly true when overseas; where weather information is limited. 2) if jet aircraft are requesting deviations on final approach; I will avoid IMC takeoffs. 3) if I do take off in IMC in the future; I will request a higher limit. 4) in case of communication failure; I will nevertheless transmit my intentions in the blind and indicate the emergency nature of the situation as appropriate.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: M20 pilot reports communication difficulties and micro burst encounter departing a foreign airport resulting in climb above assigned altitude without clearance.

Narrative: I was the Pilot in Command and only occupant. My initial radio call to Tower ('Permission to start engine and ready to copy clearance.') resulted in an unintelligible response. I radioed back and received no response. After several more transmissions; I received no response other than one 'testing; 1; 2; 3' on the frequency and some double clicks. Finally; I received a response giving me my clearance and permission to start engines. My clearance was 'as filed; 10;000 FT; 2;000 FT initially.' No squawk code or frequency was provided. Given the multiple non responses; it is unclear if the receiver in the Tower was consistently working. There was an approximate 600 FT ceiling; 2 mile visibility; and other aircraft on approach (i.e.; at low altitude) requested deviation due to weather. After takeoff; my aircraft experienced downdrafts to 1;000 FPM; indicating a microburst. Given the emergency situation; I applied maximum power to avoid impact with terrain. Keeping the plane out of the trees demanded that I focus on flying the plane and I could not focus attention on the radio at the same time. (There was no second pilot to manage the radio.) While I believe I attempted to reach Tower (with the intention of requesting higher and declaring an emergency); I do not recall the specifics of my communication attempt and I do not recall hearing a response. Under these circumstances; in order to increase my chances of survival; I believed it necessary to start my climb to my final clearance of 10;000 FT. I eventually tried departure frequency (which I had previously obtained from the approach plates for the airport). Departure responded that Tower was attempting to contact me. I switched and was able to communicate; and advised that I had climbed to 4;000 FT given that I had nearly stalled in a microburst. I was subsequently cleared to 10;000 FT. I proceeded without further incident to submit a report to ATC; which I did within about 48 hours. Contributing factors: 1) Flight into embedded thunderstorm in IMC. 2) Poor communication. To avoid recurrence: 1) When flying an aircraft with limited climb performance; I will avoid IMC takeoffs in order to avoid embedded thunderstorms. This is particularly true when overseas; where weather information is limited. 2) If jet aircraft are requesting deviations on final approach; I will avoid IMC takeoffs. 3) If I do take off in IMC in the future; I will request a higher limit. 4) In case of communication failure; I will nevertheless transmit my intentions in the blind and indicate the emergency nature of the situation as appropriate.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.