Piper PA28-181 N6413C

Summary

On 3 July 2006 at about 18:40 local time, a Piper PA28-181 registered N6413C, operated by Tradewinds Aviation, was involved in an accident near Dorris, California, United States. 4 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

3 July 2006 at 18:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Dorris, California, United States

Nearest airport

Butte Valley Airport (A32)

Coordinates

41.8897, -121.9814

Aircraft

Piper PA28-181

Registration

N6413C

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Tradewinds Aviation

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Dorris → Dorris

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX06CA223

Nobody was injured.

the pilot's failure to maintain an adequate airspeed during a go-around, which resulted in a stall/mush. A contributing factor was the high density altitude.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane impacted the ground during an attempted go-around. Before the flight, the pilot performed weight and balance and density altitude calculations. After a 1-hour local flight, the pilot circled over the airport and determined the winds to be calm. He entered the traffic pattern for runway 34 and extended 40 degrees of flaps. The pilot noticed a slight crosswind from the west and applied crosswind correction. On short final, the airplane was aligned with the runway at an indicated airspeed of 65 knots. As the airplane crossed the approach end of the runway it rolled to the left and the stall warning horn sounded. The pilot initiated a go-around by applying full power and retracting the flaps to 25 degrees. The airplane continued to descend, so the pilot released right rudder pressure and leveled the wings in an attempt to climb; however, the airplane continued to descend on a heading of 310 degrees. About 10 feet above ground level, the pilot pulled back on the yoke in an effort to slow the airplane down. The plane touched down on the main landing gear in a field about 100 yards west of the runway. The left wing dug into the ground and the airplane spun 90 degrees to the left before coming to a stop. The calculated density altitude was 6,313 feet.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.