Howard DGA 15P N4476N

Summary

On 12 April 2017 at about 18:30 local time, a Howard DGA 15P registered N4476N was involved in an accident near Monongahela, Pennsylvania, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

12 April 2017 at 18:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Monongahela, Pennsylvania, United States

Nearest airport

Rostraver Airport (FWQ)

Coordinates

40.2086, -79.8311

Aircraft

Howard DGA 15P

Registration

N4476N

Category

Airplane

Year built

1939

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Pittsburgh → Monongahela

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA17FA153

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain airplane control during an attempted go-around in gusting crosswind conditions, which resulted in an exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack and a subsequent aerodynamic stall.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Witnesses observed the airplane touch down left of the runway centerline in gusting crosswind conditions and then attempt to go-around. As the engine noise increased, the airplane yawed 90° left and banked left, perpendicular to the runway. The airplane's nose pitched up, and the airplane subsequently entered an aerodynamic stall and rolled inverted before impacting a ravine about 400 ft left of the runway. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. The airplane was equipped with a 450-hp radial engine. It is likely that, upon application of engine power to initiate the go-around, the pilot failed to adequately compensate for the extreme left-turning tendencies of the high-powered engine, which resulted in a subsequent loss of control and aerodynamic stall.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.