Pilot Debrief

GRUMMAN G164 near Oak Ridge, LA — 2011-05-27

Final reportCEN11LA396
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Date
2011-05-27
Location
Oak Ridge, LA, USA
Airport
M79
Aircraft
GRUMMAN G164
Registration
N2LU
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Minor
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Maneuvering

Probable cause

The flight instructor's failure to maintain adequate airspeed, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and subsequent impact with trees.

NTSB narrative

The flight instructor was demonstrating agricultural, low-altitude operations to the pilot. The instructor reported that he noticed a loss of engine power when making a turn; the airplane then descended and impacted the tops of several trees. The airplane fell nose first through the thick wooded canopy, coming to rest in the trees in a mostly nose-down attitude. The pilot reported that the instructor had been flying the airplane slowly while in wingover turns and that the stall light would regularly flicker on and off during the climbing turns. He added that the instructor did not increase the engine power setting before impact and that the airspeed was low immediately before the airplane impacted the trees. The instructor did not report using carburetor heat during his low-altitude operations but did report that he was operating at a reduced power setting. An examination of the airplane showed no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Although a carburetor icing probability chart indicated that an airplane operating in the ambient conditions at the time of the accident could expect a risk of carburetor icing while at cruise power and a serious risk of carburetor icing while at glide power, it is more likely that the airplane entered into an aerodynamic stall at an altitude too low for the pilot to recover based on the account given by the pilot.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Engine power loss
First missed decision gate
CFI did not increase engine power before impact despite low airspeed.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

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

Docket documents8

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