Piper PA-38-112 N2516E
19 September 1990 · Watsonville, California, United States · Minor injuries
Summary
On 19 September 1990 at about 00:50 local time, a Piper PA-38-112 registered N2516E, operated by Santa Cruz Aviation, was involved in an accident near Watsonville, California, United States. 2 people were on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 00:50
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Watsonville, California, United States
- Nearest airport
- Monterey Bay (CA66)
- Coordinates
- 36.9503, -121.7200
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-38-112
- Registration
- N2516E
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Santa Cruz Aviation
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Instructional
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- LAX90LA324
People
1 person had minor injuries.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Probable cause
IMPROPER HANDLING OF THE AIRCRAFT BY THE STUDENT PILOT, WHICH RESULTED IN HIS FAILURE TO ATTAIN SUFFICIENT AIRSPEED TO CLIMB AFTER TAKEOFF, AND THE INSTRUCTOR'S (CFI'S) INADEQUATE SUPERVISION.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
DURING A TRAINING FLT, THE INSTRUCTOR (CFI) & STUDENT LANDED THE ACFT ON A ROUGH DIRT/GRASS STRIP THAT WAS 2200' LONG. THE CFI REPORTED THAT AS THE STUDENT WAS MAKING A ROUGH FIELD TAKEOFF FROM THE STRIP, THE ACFT BECAME AIRBORNE 'JUST BEFORE THE MIDDLE POINT OF THE RUNWAY' & 'AT THIS POINT, THE STALL WARNING BEGAN TO SOUND.' THE CFI SAID HE PUSHED THE YOKE FORWARD IN HOPES OF 'COAXING' SOME ACCELERATION, BUT THE ACFT'S SPEED REMAINED AT ABOUT 55 KTS & THE ACFT WOULD NOT ACCELERATE OR CLIMB. ACCORDING TO THE CFI, THE ACFT REMAINED ABOUT 10' ABOVE THE SURFACE & FELT OVERWEIGHT, UNDERPOWERED & SLUGGISH. THERE WAS INSUFFICIENT RWY REMAINING TO ABORT & THE CFI HOPED TO GET THE ACFT TO ACCELERATE, WHILE DSCNDG OVER A BLUFF BEYOND THE END OF THE RWY. HOWEVER, THE ACFT HIT A BUSH OR LOW TREE, THEN IT ROTATE ABOUT THE VERTICAL AXIS & CRASHED. THE CFI RPRTD THAT THE STALL WARNING CONTINUED TO SOUND UNTIL THE ACFT 'STARTED SLIDING DOWN THE BLUFF.' NO PREIMPACT MECHANICAL PROBLEM WAS FOUND.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Piper PA-38 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 Jul 1990 | Piper PA-38 | Hinckley, Illinois, United States | Lumanair, Inc | Fatal | 2 |
| 18 Apr 1990 | Piper PA-38-112 | Marco Island, Florida, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 3 Jun 1990 | Piper PA-38-112 | Belgrade, Montana, United States | Sunbird Aviation, Inc. | Serious injuries | - |
| 14 Jul 1990 | Piper PA-38-112 | Houston, Texas, United States | Ray's Flight Service | No injuries | - |
| 9 Sep 1990 | Piper PA-38-112 | Quarryville, Pennsylvania, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 20 Oct 1990 | Piper PA-38-125 | Levelland, Texas, United States | Levelland Aviation, Inc. | Fatal | 2 |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Apr 1990 | Cessna 180 | Soledad, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 10 Oct 1990 | Cessna 150 | Riverside, California, United States | PAR Flight | No injuries | - |
| 17 Apr 1990 | Piper PA46 | Paso Robles, California, United States | Piper Aircraft Corp. | No injuries | - |
| 7 Oct 1990 | Cessna 182M | Bakersfield, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 1 Apr 1990 | Piper J-3 | Creston, California, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 11 Oct 1990 | Bell 47G4 | Merced, California, United States | John W. Myers | Serious injuries | - |