American AA-1 N5642L

Summary

On 15 November 2012 at about 14:00 local time, a American AA-1 registered N5642L, operated by Darren Tidwell, was involved in an accident near Morgan, Utah, 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

15 November 2012 at 14:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Morgan, Utah, United States

Nearest airport

Morgan County (42U)

Coordinates

41.1758, -111.7211

Aircraft

American AA-1

Registration

N5642L

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Darren Tidwell

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Morgan → Logan

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dawn

NTSB number

WPR13FA041

1 person died.

The pilot's inadequate preflight inspection, which resulted in frost remaining on the airplane's surfaces and led to its inability to produce enough lift to clear rising terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

A witness reported that the airplane took off just before sunrise and that the engine sounded normal. During climbout, the airplane impacted rising terrain about 3 miles from the airport and about 776 feet above field elevation. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. A review of the recorded meteorological data showed that the weather conditions were conducive to frost formation. Further, a witness at the airport reported observing frost on the surfaces of parked airplanes on the day of the accident. Therefore, it is likely that the airplane had frost on its surfaces before takeoff and that the pilot failed to adequately clear the frost off the airplane during the preflight inspection, which increased drag and reduced the production of lift; therefore, the airplane was unable to gain sufficient altitude to clear the rising terrain.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.