Piper PA-28-140 N32396

Summary

On 29 March 2015 at about 13:40 local time, a Piper PA-28-140 registered N32396, operated by Skyline Aviation Services, was involved in an accident near Orange, Virginia, 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

29 March 2015 at 13:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Orange, Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Orange County Airport (OMH)

Coordinates

38.2514, -78.0372

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-140

Registration

N32396

Category

Airplane

Year built

1974

Engines

1

Operator

Skyline Aviation Services

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Orange → Farmville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA15FA170

1 person died.

The student pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed after takeoff, which resulted in the airplane exceeding its critical angle-of-attack and experiencing an aerodynamic stall.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot was departing on a solo cross-country flight. Witnesses reported that they observed the airplane taking off and that it appeared to be "abnormally slow" and did not seem to be gaining altitude. They also reported observing a trail of "smoke" or "exhaust" emanating from the engine. When the airplane was about 150 ft above ground level, its nose pitched up abruptly, the left wing dropped, and the airplane impacted terrain about 1,300 ft from the departure end of the runway. Ground scars and damage to the airplane were consistent with a near-vertical impact. Postaccident examination of the airframe revealed no anomalies, and there was no evidence of fuel contamination. Engine powertrain and valve train continuity was established, and borescope examination of the cylinders revealed no anomalies. The spark plugs were removed, and all of them exhibited significant carbon-fouling. During testing, three of the eight plugs displayed weak and intermittent spark. Flow testing revealed that, throughout all power settings, the carburetor produced a fuel flow that was richer than the maximum acceptable limits prescribed by the manufacturer. Review of the airplane's maintenance logbooks indicated that the carburetor was last serviced about 2 years (300 flight hours) before the accident. The condition of the spark plugs, as well as the witness accounts of smoke/exhaust, was consistent with the engine operating in an overly rich fuel/air mixture condition; however, the investigation could not determine how long the engine had been experiencing this condition. None of the witnesses reported rough engine operation or a loss of power before the accident, and each of the witness observations was consistent with an aerodynamic stall/spin. Although the effect of the fouled spark plugs and overly rich fuel/air mixture on the engine operation could not be determined, it is possible that the engine's performance was degraded during the takeoff, which would likely have been a source of distraction for the student pilot and may have contributed to the loss of control.  

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.