Pilot Debrief

Piper PA32 near Lake City, FL — 2020-01-25

Final reportERA20FA085
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Date
2020-01-25
Location
Lake City, FL, USA
Airport
15FL
Aircraft
Piper PA32
Registration
N55455
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Fatal
Fatalities
1
Phase of flight
Takeoff roll

Probable cause

The pilot's exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and subsequent loss of control at low altitude.

NTSB narrative

A witness described that, when the pilot arrived at the airport several days before the accident, the airplane’s engine “cut out” while on final approach to the runway. After landing uneventfully, the pilot had a mechanic service the airplane, and the engine performed normally. On the day of the accident, as the airplane departed, the witness reported that he watched the airplane turn “hard left” after it cleared trees near the runway. He later heard a loud bang, then saw smoke. He drove over to the smoke and saw that the airplane was completely engulfed in flames. The airplane came to rest in the yard of a residence about 1,000 feet left of the runway’s midpoint. Postaccident examination of the airplane was limited due to impact and postcrash fire damage; however, no defects consistent with a preimpact failure or malfunction of either the airframe or engine were observed. Additionally, a sound spectrum analysis of the audio from a video recording showed that the engine was likely running slightly below full throttle before the accident. Given this information, there was no evidence that a loss of engine power preceded the accident. The witness’s description that the airplane was in a “hard left” turn, the location of the accident site relatively close to the runway, the lack of a discernable horizontal wreckage path, and little fragmentation of the wreckage to suggest a high-energy impact, were consistent with the airplane impacting the ground in a near-vertical descent at a relatively low speed. Thus, it is likely that the pilot exceeded the airplane’s critical angle of attack during the steep, low-altitude turn shortly after takeoff, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and loss of airplane control at an altitude too low for recovery.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Engine power loss
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have aborted takeoff after engine cut out on short final approach.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

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

Docket documents7

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