Piper PA-28-181 N293PA

Summary

On 28 January 2010 at about 15:37 local time, a Piper PA-28-181 registered N293PA, operated by Transpac Aviation Academy, was involved in an accident near Phoenix, 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

28 January 2010 at 15:37

Classification

Accident

Location

Phoenix, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Phoenix Deer Valley Airport (DVT)

Coordinates

33.6903, -112.1158

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-181

Registration

N293PA

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Transpac Aviation Academy

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Phoenix → Wickenburg

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR10FA120

1 person died.

The student pilot’s decision to take off in marginal visual flight rules conditions, which resulted in an encounter with low clouds, and the pilot's failure to maintain clearance from wires while maneuvering in the traffic pattern for landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Shortly after takeoff for the student pilot’s second solo cross-country flight, she was advised by the air traffic controller to make a departure on the right downwind leg of the traffic pattern. While on the downwind leg, the pilot requested to return to the airport and make a full-stop landing. The controller instructed the pilot to continue the right-hand pattern and to follow the traffic in front of her. The controller then inquired if she needed assistance, to which she responded “because of ceiling.” The controller again advised her to follow the traffic in front of her, and she responded that she had it in sight. The controller then cleared her to land, which she acknowledged. The controller subsequently asked the pilot if she had the runway in sight, after which a short inaudible transmission was received. A review of the radar data indicated that the pilot was following a normal right-hand traffic pattern until the base leg, where she overflew the final approach for the runway. Witnesses in the area reported seeing the airplane flying very low before hearing a loud bang. The airplane impacted a low wire span about 30 feet above ground level and continued another 400 feet before hitting another set of wires and crashing into a field. The weather reported in the area at the time by witnesses and first responders was low clouds and fog. It is likely that the pilot either encountered the low clouds or was attempting to remain below the clouds when the collision with the wires occurred. Postaccident examination of the airplane and engine did not reveal evidence of a mechanical failure or malfunction that would have precluded normal operation. Visual flight rules (VFR) conditions existed over most of western Arizona; however, the accident site bordered the area between marginal VFR and VFR conditions. The weather observation at the time of the accident included a 1,000-foot broken cloud layer with 5 miles of visibility.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.