Piper PA-25-235 N4602Y

Summary

On 13 June 2004 at about 22:04 local time, a Piper PA-25-235 registered N4602Y, operated by Turf Soaring School, was involved in an accident near Peoria, Arizona, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 June 2004 at 22:04

Classification

Accident

Location

Peoria, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Pleasant Valley (P48)

Coordinates

33.8006, -112.2506

Aircraft

Piper PA-25-235

Registration

N4602Y

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Turf Soaring School

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Glider Tow

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Peoria → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX04LA240

1 person died.

the pilot's failure to maintain a proper pitch attitude during tow operations and his failure to maintain an adequate airspeed, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The tow plane stalled and impacted terrain following a nose high pitch excursion during a tow operation. The glider pilot, who was being towed at the time, reported experiencing a normal takeoff until about 100-150 feet above the ground. The tow plane then began to out climb the glider and slack developed in the tow line. The glider pilot released from the tow when she realized that while trying to chase the tow plane, the glider was nearing a stall speed. Witnesses to the accident observed the tow plane pitch nose high twice before it stalled and spun to the right. One of the witnesses was another pilot who flew the accident airplane on 12 previous flights that day. He reported observing no problems with the airplane during his flights that would have prevented its normal operation. Additional witnesses reported hearing a normal engine noise throughout the event. Post accident examination of the airplane revealed no anomalies that would have affected its flying abilities. Toxicological tests of samples from the pilot revealed the presence of phentermine, ephedrine, and pseudoephedrine. Phentermine is a prescription stimulant drug; ephedrine and pseudoephedrine are components of over the counter compounds and have stimulant properties.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.