Pilot Debrief

PIPER PA28 near Siler City, NC — 2024-06-14

Final reportERA24FA261
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Date
2024-06-14
Location
Siler City, NC, USA
Airport
KSCR
Aircraft
PIPER PA28
Registration
N515DH
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Fatal
Fatalities
2

Probable cause

The flight instructor’s failure to maintain airplane control during a low-speed, low-altitude left turn after encountering an undetermined issue during takeoff, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall at an altitude too low for recovery.

NTSB narrative

The flight instructor and student pilot were performing touch-and-go landings at a nearby airport. A second flight instructor for the same operator, who was flying another airplane in the same traffic pattern, observed the accident airplane perform a touch-and-go landing. As the second airplane approached the left base leg of the traffic pattern, the accident flight crew asked for his position and then requested, “Can you extend, we’re having an issue.” There were no further communications from the accident airplane. A witness near the runway reported that the accident airplane looked like it was “flying sideways” during takeoff. As it climbed east of the runway, the airplane “almost rolled over on its side and went into a nosedive” before impacting the ground. A postimpact fire ensued. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Although the weather conditions at the time of the accident were conducive to serious carburetor icing at glide power, the propeller damage and static tachometer indication were consistent with the engine’s production of cruise power at impact. According to ADS-B data, the track resumed near the departure end of the runway 10 ft above ground level (agl) and a groundspeed of 66 kts. During the next 25 seconds, the accident airplane climbed and turned about 90° to the left. The final ADS-B target showed the airplane about 185 ft agl at a groundspeed of 71 knots (kts) before the track data ended near the accident site. Postmortem toxicology testing of specimens from the flight instructor was consistent with recent use of cannabis and morphine. Both substances can adversely affect cognitive and psychomotor performance, and the medical review determined that the instructor’s use of these substances, particularly in combination, posed a hazard to flight safety. However, because the potential combined effects could not be predicted and postmortem concentrations could not reliably establish the extent of impairment at the time of the accident, whether drug effects contributed to the accident could not be determined. Weather conditions were conducive to serious carburetor icing at glide power, and carburetor icing could have accounted for the issue reported by the flight instructor. However, no witness reported engine roughness or a loss of engine power, and impact and thermal damage prevented determination of the carburetor and induction-system configurations. Additionally, the engine was likely producing cruise power at impact. Therefore, whether carburetor icing may have contributed to the reported issue could not be determined. Although the nature of the issue reported by the flight instructor could not be determined, the airplane subsequently entered a low-speed, low-altitude left turn during the initial climb, which increased the airplane’s stall speed; the flight instructor subsequently exceeded the airplane’s critical angle of attack, resulting in an accelerated aerodynamic stall at an altitude too low for recovery.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • ADS-B / radar
  • Photos
  • 17 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents17

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