Piper PA30-NO SERIES N7880Y

Summary

On 21 April 2014 at about 21:00 local time, a Piper PA30-NO SERIES registered N7880Y, operated by Anthony Degennaro, was involved in an accident near Bullhead City, Arizona, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

21 April 2014 at 21:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Bullhead City, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Sun Valley (A20)

Coordinates

35.0009, -114.5601

Aircraft

Piper PA30-NO SERIES

Registration

N7880Y

Category

Airplane

Year built

1965

Engines

2

Operator

Anthony Degennaro

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lake Havasu → Bullhead City

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR14LA169

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's mismanagement of the throttle and propeller controls during the attempted go-around after encountering turbulence, which resulted in his failure to maintain adequate airspeed and climb rate and a subsequent forced landing and impact with terrain. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s lack of knowledge about the airplane’s equipment.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, upon arrival at the airport, he overflew the runway, checked the wind direction, and then entered the downwind leg for a landing to the north. While turning onto final approach, the airplane encountered severe turbulence, at which time the pilot initiated a go-around by adding full power to both engines. However, he noted that "it seemed like the airplane would not fly" and that it was "like it was being pushed down." He added that he was not sure if the engines completely failed or not but that "I just know I didn't have any power." The airplane subsequently impacted terrain about 1/4 mile from the departure end of the runway and then came to rest upright. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings and empennage. Postaccident examination of the airplane and engine revealed no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Fuel was drained from both the left and right fuel tanks, and no water or sediment was observed. The left propeller blades were found in the feathered position, and the right propeller blades were found in low pitch. The feathered propellers indicated that, despite the pilot's statement that the engine did not have power, the engine likely did have power but no thrust. Followup discussions with the pilot revealed that he had been improperly using the propeller controls as the throttles, with the throttle controls in the full-forward position, during the flight. Additionally, the pilot had pulled both propeller controls to the full-feather position upon touching down on the runway and then abruptly advanced them when he initiated a go-around rather than using the throttle as required. The pilot reported that he had an extensive amount of flight time in another airplane make and model that was configured with the propeller and throttle controls oriented in a position directly opposite their position in the accident airplane. The pilot's mismanagement of the throttle and propeller controls during the attempted go-around after encountering turbulence resulted in insufficient airspeed and degraded climb performance and a subsequent forced landing and impact with terrain.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.