Piper PA-28-151 N30ZZ

Summary

On 22 December 2010 at about 13:54 local time, a Piper PA-28-151 registered N30ZZ, operated by Eddy Howard A, was involved in an accident near Spencer, Massachusetts, 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

22 December 2010 at 13:54

Classification

Accident

Location

Spencer, Massachusetts, United States

Nearest airport

Spencer Airport (60M)

Coordinates

42.2950, -71.9647

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-151

Registration

N30ZZ

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Eddy Howard A

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Spencer → Fitchburg

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA11FA094

1 person died.

The in-flight collision with a tree while returning to land for undetermined reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Prior to departure, the pilot allowed minimal time for the engine to warm up (0.1 hour elapsed for the accident flight, as indicated by the hour meter). While there were no eyewitnesses who saw the departure or accident, one individual located east-northeast of the departure end of the runway heard a loud sound that she attributed to a northerly departure and then heard a sound that she associated with a backfire. Another individual reported hearing a surging or sputtering sound from the engine, followed by silence. About 850 feet from the approach end of the runway opposite the takeoff runway, the left wing collided with a tree. The airplane then descended, rolled inverted and impacted the ground. Both wing fuel tanks were breached during the accident and the amount of fuel on board the airplane at the time of the accident could not be determined. The right tank was selected to supply fuel to the engine, and first responders reported that fuel was leaking from that (breached) tank at the accident site. Examination of the flight controls, engine, engine systems, and fuel supply system revealed no evidence of preimpact failure or malfunction. The flight previous to the accident flight occurred 7 weeks prior. At the end of that flight, the fuel quantity gauges indicated both fuel tanks were about 1/4 full. However, given the elapsed time for the accident flight, it is unlikely that the engine experienced fuel exhaustion.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.