Piper PA-28-161 N54TM

Summary

On 8 August 1998 at about 22:30 local time, a Piper PA-28-161 registered N54TM was involved in an accident near Huntsville, Utah, United States. 2 people were on board and 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

8 August 1998 at 22:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Huntsville, Utah, United States

Coordinates

41.6000, -111.7207

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-161

Registration

N54TM

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Tremonton → Eagle

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW98LA352

2 people were seriously injured.

The flight instructor's failure to ensure adequate altitude/clearance with terrain, resulting in an encounter with a downdraft, loss of airspeed, onset of a stall/mush, and collision with high terrain.. Contributing factors were high density altitude, downdrafts, mountainous terrain, and trees.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor and his student were from Fort Worth, Texas, and they were crossing a mountain ridge eastbound at 9,500 feet msl when the flight instructor reported that they 'encountered a serious downdraft.' He immediately began a 180 degree turn and then reversed direction again back eastbound. The flight instructor stated that the 'airplane was descending about 2,500 feet per minute with full power.' The student stated that 'just as we hit some trees, I remember hearing the stall horn.' The forecast wind aloft was approximately 10 knots at 9,000 feet msl. The density altitude for 10,000 feet was calculated to have been 13,061 feet. Using the airplane's manufacturer Climb Performance charts, N54TM had approximately 210 feet per minute climb capability. The degree of bank that the flight instructor utilized for his turns was not documented, but, the book 'Flight Theory For Pilots' states that as the turning bank angle increases, the energy demands to maintain level flight asymptotically increases. The flight instructor reported that he acquired most of his flight training in Colorado Springs, Colorado, before moving to Fort Worth, Texas.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.