Pilot Debrief

DAVID FITZGERALD ZENITH near WARREN, ID — 2014-08-05

Final reportWPR14FA330
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Date
2014-08-05
Location
WARREN, ID, USA
Aircraft
DAVID FITZGERALD ZENITH
Registration
N32FZ
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Fatal
Fatalities
2
Phase of flight
Climb

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate airspeed and his exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle-of-attack while climbing to avoid terrain while operating at a high density altitude, which resulted in a stall at too low an altitude to allow recovery.

NTSB narrative

The pilot and a passenger were conducting cross-country flights across multiple days in remote mountainous areas. Data downloaded from the airplane's multifunction display showed, for the accident leg, a flight track that meandered from the last departure point toward the day's intended destination, which was about 19 nm northwest of the accident site. The track followed the contour of the area's mountainous terrain, was not a direct route, and had many turns and route reversals. The airplane's altitude remained mostly constant. In the last minute of flight, the airplane was in a gradual climb, and the airspeed decreased from about 50 knots to the last recorded airspeed of about 35 knots. During the last few seconds of flight, the pitch became nose down, and the airplane rolled to a 90-degree angle. Onsite wreckage documentation indicated that the airplane collided with the sloping terrain in a nose-down attitude. It is likely that the pilot increased pitch to establish a climb angle to clear the terrain but inadvertently exceeded the airplane's critical angle-of-attack and entered a stall from which he was unable to recover. The density altitude at the time of the accident was about 10,381 ft. Operation at a high density altitude can adversely impact airplane performance. Postaccident documentation of the wreckage and data downloaded from the airplane's multifunction display did not reveal evidence of a mechanical malfunction or failure that would have precluded normal operation.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Loss of control
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have chosen a safer route or altitude to avoid mountainous terrain.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

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

Docket documents10

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