P Z L -Warszawa-Cnpsl PZL 104 WILGA N65ZA

Summary

On 21 August 2016 at about 15:00 local time, a P Z L -Warszawa-Cnpsl PZL 104 WILGA registered N65ZA was involved in an accident near Austin, Nevada, 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 August 2016 at 15:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Austin, Nevada, United States

Coordinates

39.4678, -117.1975

Aircraft

P Z L -Warszawa-Cnpsl PZL 104 WILGA

Registration

N65ZA

Category

Airplane

Year built

1983

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Austin → Austin

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA16CA444

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's failure to maintain an appropriate descent rate during the base to final turn, which resulted in a forced landing, and an intentional aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's excessive braking, which resulted in a nose over and substantial damage to the empennage.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he was landing atop a backcountry mountain ridge at an elevation of 10,250 feet. The airplane was configured with full flaps and on left base to final turn and the wing blocked his view of the ridge. The pilot reported that in the turn to final he had descended "a couple hundred feet lower" than he should have and when the ridge came into view, he realized he was too low, the airplane would not be able to climb over the ridge, and that he was forced to continue the landing. The pilot further reported that he intentionally aerodynamically stalled the airplane before landing, which resulted in the tail wheel impacting the ground first, then the main landing gear. According to the pilot, to keep the airplane from falling off the edge of the cliff, he "locked up" the brakes, which resulted in a nose over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the empennage. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.