Piper PA-28-140 N5169T

Summary

On 7 June 2014 at about 21:00 local time, a Piper PA-28-140 registered N5169T was involved in an accident near Newport, Vermont, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

7 June 2014 at 21:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Newport, Vermont, United States

Nearest airport

Newport State (EFK)

Coordinates

44.8864, -72.2242

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-140

Registration

N5169T

Category

Airplane

Year built

1972

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Newport → Newport

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA14LA285

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during an aborted landing, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and collision with the ground. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's alcohol impairment.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was returning to his home airport after a local flight that lasted about 2 hours. On his first attempted landing, the pilot conducted a go-around. The pilot said that he was "high and fast" on the second attempt, even though the runway was equipped with a 2-light precision approach path indicator which would have given the pilot guidance to touch down with the first one-third of the runway. The airplane touched down about 3,000 feet down the 3,998-foot runway. The pilot then applied full power to abort the landing. After lifting off, the airplane pitched up, and, according to the pilot, the engine failed. About 200 feet above ground level, the airplane banked left and settled back toward the ground; it then impacted the ground and slid to a stop about 850 feet off the end of the runway. Immediately after the accident, the pilot exited the wreckage and was observed leaving the airport. A postaccident examination and test run of the engine revealed no evidence of any anomalies that would have precluded normal engine operation. According to a witness, on the morning of the accident, she observed the pilot consume 12 to 16 alcoholic beverages between 0745 and 1230 when the pilot left to meet his passenger for the flight. After the accident, the Vermont State Police made contact with the pilot at his residence, where he refused a breathalyzer test. Given the airplane's performance during and after the pitch up, and the absence of any indications of an engine anomaly, the airplane likely entered an aerodynamic stall; the pilot's failure to adequately maintain airspeed and pitch control after the aborted landing, which resulted in the stall, was likely related to his consumption of alcohol.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.