Piper PA-28-235 N8903W

Summary

On 27 June 1998 at about 14:59 local time, a Piper PA-28-235 registered N8903W was involved in an accident near Liberal, Kansas, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

27 June 1998 at 14:59

Classification

Accident

Location

Liberal, Kansas, United States

Coordinates

37.0400, -100.9308

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-235

Registration

N8903W

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

CHI98LA224

1 person died.

the inadvertent stall, the pilot's inadequate preflight planning, which led to performing a takeoff with insufficient distance to clear the utility pole. A factor which contributed to this accident was the utility pole.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

A witness watched the airplane as it was making its takeoff run from a dirt road. The airplane's tail seemed to strike the crest of a hill, but the airplane did not takeoff. Further down the road, the witness saw the airplane get airborne and begin a turn to the left. The airplane then descended rapidly and hit the ground left wing first. The witness said that the airplane seemed to be rolling and going inverted before it struck the ground. About three seconds after the airplane hit the ground, it burst into flames. The airplane came to rest 25 feet south of a severed power pole, which was approximately 1/2 mile from where the airplane began its takeoff run. Examination of wreckage revealed no anomalies. According to the Piper PA-28 Cherokee 235 'B' Pilot Operating Handbook Takeoff Distance versus Density Altitude Chart, the takeoff distance needed to clear a 50 foot obstacle, for a 2,900 pound gross weight airplane with a density altitude of 6,364 feet msl, is approximately 2,550 feet.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.