Piper PA-28-161 N9184Y

Summary

On 27 August 2010 at about 16:26 local time, a Piper PA-28-161 registered N9184Y, operated by Beverly Flight Center Inc, was involved in an accident near Beverly, Massachusetts, United States. 2 people were on board and one died. The aircraft was slightly damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

27 August 2010 at 16:26

Classification

Accident

Location

Beverly, Massachusetts, United States

Nearest airport

Beverly Municipal Airport (BVY)

Coordinates

42.5839, -70.9161

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-161

Registration

N9184Y

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Beverly Flight Center Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Beverly → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Minor

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA10LA446

1 person died.

The flight instructor's decision to exit the airplane on the taxiway with the engine still operating, and his failure to avoid the rotating propeller.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor and the private pilot receiving instrument instruction noticed that the pilots of another airplane ahead of them were having difficulty latching the canopy. The flight instructor opened his door, exited the airplane to try to help them, and either jumped or stumbled off the leading edge of the right wing and came into contact with the airplane’s moving propeller. The airplane was equipped with a walkway which led aft from the cockpit and was used to enter and exit the airplane. The cabin door was hinged at the front, and was equipped with a door holder which prevented over travel of the door and would hold the door in an open position, blocking an occupant from going forward, instead of aft, down the walkway. Additionally, the door was equipped with a secondary door stop mounted on the upper surface of the right wing almost directly in line with the lower outer edge of the door. Examination of the secondary stop revealed that it exhibited compression buckling and was bent forward and to the right from its usual mounted position, indicating the flight instructor may have tripped on the stop, causing it to buckle. However, interviews with the operator revealed the flight instructor would often jump off the front of the airplane wing to put on propeller locks when securing them for the night, indicating that he would sometimes not use the walkway for exiting the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.