Piper PA-32R-301 N8147B

Summary

On 17 August 1997 at about 00:09 local time, a Piper PA-32R-301 registered N8147B was involved in an accident near Jefferson City, Missouri, United States. 4 people were on board and 3 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

17 August 1997 at 00:09

Classification

Accident

Location

Jefferson City, Missouri, United States

Nearest airport

Jefferson City Memorial (JEF)

Coordinates

38.4992, -92.1303

Aircraft

Piper PA-32R-301

Registration

N8147B

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI97LA262

3 people had minor injuries.

the pilot's incomplete preflight of the airplane's stabilizer and rudder trim settings for takeoff, his failure to correct for the high pitch during the initial climb, his failure to recover from the bounced landing, and the inadvertent stall. Factors relating to this accident were the improper stabilizer and rudder trim settings.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot said that they had just taken off and were 'approximately 20 to 25 feet in the air when the engine rpm dropped from 2,700 to 400.' As the airspeed decreased, the airplane began to roll to the left. The pilot said that he kept the nose of the airplane up, and leveled the wings. 'As the airplane began to settle, the rpm zoomed to 700. The airplane touched down and then bounced back into the air.' The airplane was about 20 feet above the ground when the rpm dropped to zero and the left wing dropped again. The pilot again leveled the wings. By this time the airplane was left of the runway. The pilot decided to land in the dirt along-side the runway. 'The airplane touched down hard and then slid for a short distance.' The passenger in the right front seat said that after a short takeoff roll, the airplane got airborne, came down, bounced back in the air, and then came down very fast hitting left wing first. The passenger in the right rear seat said that it was loud when they took off and that the airplane was vibrating and seemed very rough. Examination of the airplane's stabilizer trim showed an almost full nose up trim setting. The rudder trim was set at full nose left. No other anomalies were revealed with the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.