Piper PA-28-161 N158EA

Summary

On 18 March 2012 at about 16:50 local time, a Piper PA-28-161 registered N158EA, operated by Stuart Flying LLC, was involved in an accident near Mexico, Missouri, United States. 2 people were on board and one died, one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

18 March 2012 at 16:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Mexico, Missouri, United States

Nearest airport

Feutz Airfield (M088)

Coordinates

39.1544, -91.8175

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-161

Registration

N158EA

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Stuart Flying LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Mexico → Mexico

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN12FA188

1 person died.

The pilot’s failure to maintain airplane control during takeoff, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and subsequent collision with trees. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s inadequate preflight performance planning before departing on the soft, grass field with a quartering tailwind.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot and his wife were departing from a 2,600-foot, soft, grass strip with a quartering right tailwind. The grass height on the runway was between 6 and 10 inches high. The airplane departed about 1,900 feet down the runway, veered to the left, stalled, and collided with trees before it came to rest in a field. Interpolation of available takeoff performance revealed that the airplane would have needed about 2,312 feet of ground-roll distance for a successful takeoff from a paved, level, dry runway, with zero flaps, under the existing wind conditions. No mechanical deficiencies were found with the airplane or engine that would have precluded normal operation at the time of the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.