Piper PA-20 N2336A

Summary

On 12 April 1998 at about 22:50 local time, a Piper PA-20 registered N2336A was involved in an accident near Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, United States. 4 people were on board and 2 died, 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

12 April 1998 at 22:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, United States

Nearest airport

Beaver County Airport (BVI)

Coordinates

40.7607, -80.3198

Aircraft

Piper PA-20

Registration

N2336A

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

IAD98FA044

2 people died.

The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control, and his failure to attain adequate airspeed, which resulted in a stall. Contributing was the pilot's lack of familiarity with the airplane, and his misjudgment of wind information which resulted in a tailwind during takeoff.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

A witness reported that the airplane departed the airport towards the west, with a tailwind. The airplane 'fishtailed' down the runway, and once airborne, the airplane's wings rocked back and forth several times before it went into a nose-high attitude. The left wing dropped, the airplane made a descending turn to the south, impacted an embankment and caught fire. The engine was heard running throughout the takeoff sequence. The pilot purchased the airplane two days prior to the accident, and had the previous owner fly with him, after the purchase, to familiarize him with the airplane. The accident airplane was the first tailwheel airplane without a stick that the pilot had flown. The pilot also reported to the previous owner that most of his flight experience had been in an Ercoupe that did not have rudders and flaps. The pilot had flown 9 times in the past 11 years, and had accumulated 3.1 hours of flight experience in the accident airplane. No pre-impact malfunction with the airplane or the engine was found.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.