Piper PA28 N6842W

Summary

On 29 March 2015 at about 17:34 local time, a Piper PA28 registered N6842W was involved in an accident near West Chester, Pennsylvania, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

29 March 2015 at 17:34

Classification

Accident

Location

West Chester, Pennsylvania, United States

Nearest airport

Brandywine Airport (OQN)

Coordinates

39.9839, -75.5914

Aircraft

Piper PA28

Registration

N6842W

Category

Airplane

Year built

1965

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

West Chester → West Chester

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA15FA171

2 people died.

The failure of the flight instructor and the pilot to abort the takeoff after the airplane experienced a partial loss of engine power with adequate runway remaining, and their subsequent failure to maintain adequate airspeed, which led to the airplane exceeding its critical angle-of-attack and experiencing an aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was an intermittent loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined during postaccident examination of the wreckage due to extensive postcrash fire damage.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot/owner had not flown for about 4 years and was receiving a flight review from the flight instructor. The airplane was most recently flown about 4.5 months before the accident and was fueled about 1 month before the accident.. Witnesses reported that during an initial engine run-up before takeoff, the engine ran rough, but during a second run-up, the condition was resolved. According to witnesses, the airplane's first takeoff was aborted for unknown reasons; during the second takeoff, they heard "popping" sounds before and engine sputtering just after the airplane rotated and began to climb. One witness reported that the engine lost power momentarily while adequate runway remained available to abort the takeoff. However, the pilots elected to continue the takeoff, and the airplane subsequently experienced additional intermittent engine power interruptions. The witnesses reported that the airplane was about 0.5 mile west of the airport, in a slight nose-up attitude, when the left wing dropped. It then entered a spin, impacted the ground in a residential area, and was partially consumed by a postcrash fire. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal evidence of any preimpact malfunctions; however, extensive fire damage precluded operational testing of the ignition and fuel system components. The No. 4 cylinder exhaust value was stuck; however, it was likely a result of the postcrash fire. Although the gascolator drain valve was found in a partially locked position, the valve's position at impact could not be determined. The reason for the engine sputtering and then resuming normal operation several times as reported by the witnesses could not be determined. In addition, it could not be determined why the flight instructor and pilot/owner elected to continue the takeoff after the airplane experienced an engine malfunction with ample runway remaining to abort the takeoff.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.