Piper PA-34-200T N8894E

Summary

On 13 January 1996 at about 17:53 local time, a Piper PA-34-200T registered N8894E was involved in an accident near Wichita Falls, Texas, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 January 1996 at 17:53

Classification

Accident

Location

Wichita Falls, Texas, United States

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Piper PA-34-200T

Registration

N8894E

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Lubbock

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW96FA088

2 people died.

The inadvertent stall by the pilot in command. Factors were the impeded airplane takeoff performance, the rudder trim not corrected by the pilot, and the pilot's failure to comply with the checklist.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Following takeoff, the pilot reported to the tower that he needed to return to land due to the loss of power to the right engine. The airplane was observed by witnesses to be in a pronounced right yaw/out of trim attitude as soon as the airplane became airborne. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the rudder trim was in the 50% nose right position. The pilot had made a precautionary landing at that airport the night before due to a reported partial loss of power on the left engine. Maintenance personnel found and repaired the source of the power loss. The pilot told the mechanics that both engines were beyond TBO and he was concerned about the reliability of the engines. Teardown and examination of both engines and turbochargers did not reveal any anomalies that would have prevented normal engine operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.