Pilot Debrief

PIPER PA-28-180 near Buena Vista, CO — 2011-09-06

Final reportCEN11CA678
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Date
2011-09-06
Location
Buena Vista, CO, USA
Aircraft
PIPER PA-28-180
Registration
N9430J
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Minor
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Initial climb

Probable cause

The airplane’s diminished climb performance due to the pilot not leaning the engine mixture enough prior to takeoff in high density altitude conditions and at nearly maximum gross takeoff weight.

NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that the airplane took off at a little over 60 knots. He stated that, just after liftoff, the airplane was initially sluggish to climb, so he lowered the nose to gain more speed in ground effect (to about 70 knots). The airplane started to gain some altitude, so the pilot continued the departure. He stated that, shortly after clearing the end of the runway, there was a loss of power and climb performance. With trees and houses ahead and insufficient altitude to clear them, the pilot decided to land in a field with deep grass just north of the airport. Upon landing in the field, the nose landing gear collapsed, resulting in substantial damage to the front of the fuselage. After the accident, the pilot reported that he believed that he may not have leaned the engine enough during run-up, resulting in less than 100 percent available power to climb. He also reported that the spark plugs may have been fouled due to the mixture setting, resulting in the loss of available power immediately after takeoff. The pilot stated that the airplane was loaded to within 65 pounds of its maximum gross weight and with a calculated density altitude of 10,400 feet, the anticipated climb rate of 300 feet per minute required full power as outlined in the Pilot’s Operating Handbook. He stated that, if there were not deep grass in the landing field, he could have landed the airplane without incident.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Engine power loss
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have leaned the engine more during run up for better power.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • 2 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents2

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