Pilot Debrief

PIPER PA-28-140 near Anadarko, OK — 2012-11-06

Final reportCEN13FA051
Sign in to save
Date
2012-11-06
Location
Anadarko, OK, USA
Airport
F68
Aircraft
PIPER PA-28-140
Registration
N7337J
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Fatal
Fatalities
1
Phase of flight
Approach

Probable cause

The pilot’s use of excessive bank angle while maneuvering in the airport traffic pattern, which resulted in an accelerated stall.

NTSB narrative

A witness reported that on the pilot’s first attempt to land, the airplane bounced and landed partially off the runway surface. The pilot aborted the landing and entered the traffic pattern to land again. When the airplane turned from the base leg of the traffic pattern to final, the airplane increased its bank angle to near 90 degrees. The airplane descended rapidly and impacted terrain. The prevailing wind, while relatively light, would have resulted in a tailwind during the base leg of the traffic pattern. If a pilot does not compensate for such wind conditions, that pilot could overshoot the turn from the base leg to final. A postimpact examination of the airplane did not find any anomalies which would have precluded the normal operation of the airplane. The circumstances of the accident are consistent with the pilot increasing the airplane’s bank angle to correct for overshooting the turn from base to final approach, resulting in an accelerated stall.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Loss of control
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have gone around instead of attempting a steep turn to final approach.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 10 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents10

Related mishaps