Piper PA-28-181 N6260J

Summary

On 17 April 2008 at about 18:30 local time, a Piper PA-28-181 registered N6260J was involved in an accident near Reserve, New Mexico, United States. 3 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured, one had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

17 April 2008 at 18:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Reserve, New Mexico, United States

Nearest airport

Reserve (T16)

Coordinates

33.7014, -108.8603

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-181

Registration

N6260J

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Reserve → Mesa

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN08LA079

2 people were seriously injured.

The pilot's loss of aircraft control, resulting in an inadvertent stall. Contributing factors in this accident were the sudden windshift to a gusting tailwind, an uphill runway, high density altitude, the pilot's failure to use all available runwayt, and his lack of experience in high altitude airport operations.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Takeoff was from runway 24. The wind was from 210 degrees at 10 to 12 knots. The pilot said that after the airplane lifted off and climbed above tree level, he encountered a "severe wind gust (right quartering tail wind) from approximately 040 degrees [of] at least 20+ knots." He said the airplane lost lift and was blown off runway centerline. He tried to "stabilize the [air]plane but with [the] loss of lift, [it] impacted [the] ground hard, [with the] nose and left wing, [and] flipped [over]." The airplane caught fire and was totally consumed. Airport elevation is 6,360 feet msl. Runway 06-24 is 4,800 feet long and 50 feet wide, and made of asphalt. Runway 24 has a 1.9 per cent uphill gradient. The pilot estimated his useful load to be 898 pounds and that the airplane weighed approximately 2,430 pounds. Gross weight is 2,550 pounds and empty weight is 1,540 pounds. According to the U.S. Forest Service ranger station, located approximately 5 miles east of the airport, the temperature was 53 degrees F. FAA calculated the density altitude to be between 6,900 and 7,300 feet. The pilot had been certificated for about six weeks, and had minimal high density altitude experience.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.