Piper PA-28-180 N6614J

Summary

On 6 October 1996 at about 18:23 local time, a Piper PA-28-180 registered N6614J, operated by Michael E. Scholl, was involved in an accident near Ely, Nevada, United States. 4 people were on board and 4 were seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 October 1996 at 18:23

Classification

Accident

Location

Ely, Nevada, United States

Nearest airport

Ely (ELY)

Coordinates

39.4210, -115.0004

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-180

Registration

N6614J

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Michael E. Scholl

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Ely → North Las Vegas

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX97LA004

4 people were seriously injured.

a partial loss of engine power for undetermined reasons, and the pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed to preclude stalling, while turning toward an emergency landing area. A factor related to the accident was: the high density altitude condition.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he performed a preflight inspection of the airplane and nothing unusual was noted. He and three passengers then taxied for takeoff, an engine run-up was conducted, the mixture was leaned for the 8,000-foot density altitude atmospheric condition, and they took off. About 30 seconds after liftoff, between 100 and 200 feet above ground level, the engine started missing. According to one of the passengers, the engine sounded as though it was intermittently operating on three cylinders. Unable to maintain altitude, the pilot increased the airplane's angle of attack while turning toward an open field. The airplane stalled, crashed into the field, and was destroyed by fire. The airframe and engine were examined, and no evidence of catastrophic failures were noted. Due to the extent of fire damage, the magnetos, carburetor, fuel pump, and various portions of the induction system could not be completely examined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.