Diamond DA 20-C1 N4196M

Summary

On 20 December 2008 at about 22:21 local time, a Diamond DA 20-C1 registered N4196M, operated by Sabena Airline Training Center, Inc., was involved in an accident near Alamo Lake State Park, 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

20 December 2008 at 22:21

Classification

Accident

Location

Alamo Lake State Park, Arizona, United States

Coordinates

34.2869, -113.5711

Aircraft

Diamond DA 20-C1

Registration

N4196M

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Sabena Airline Training Center, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lake Havasu Cty → Mesa

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR09FA062

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain control during the performance of a maneuver and his failure to recover from the subsequent aerodynamic stall and spin.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot enrolled in a professional pilot flight training program and commenced his flying lessons about 3 months before the accident. Pursuant to the flight school's curriculum, the pilot filed a round robin flight plan for a solo instructional cross-country flight principally intended to further his expertise in navigation. Airwork was not supposed to be performed. After takeoff, the pilot did not open his flight plan. Rather than cruising en route at the planned 6,500-foot mean sea level (msl) altitude, the pilot climbed to 14,000 feet. As planned, the pilot landed and refueled at the halfway-point airport and then departed for the return flight. En route, the pilot climbed to about 9,400 feet. After flying about 1/2 hour, the pilot reversed course and began performing airwork between 6,700 and 7,300 feet msl. Two witnesses in a boat observed the airplane in a spinning descent. One of the witnesses stated that he observed the airplane complete 8 turns before he lost sight of it behind a hill. The airplane impacted the ground (elevation 1,100 feet msl) in a nose-down attitude without evidence of landing-gear-induced ground scar in the sandy terrain around the crash site. The site was within 300 feet (lateral distance) from where the airplane disappeared from radar, as it was descending about 6,000 feet per minute. The accident pilot's certified flight instructor had provided his student with spin awareness training, including actual spins. This training was repeated on more occasions than listed in the FAA-approved training curriculum. An examination of the airframe and engine revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The reason that the pilot failed to recover from the spin was not determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.