Piper PA28 N9427J

Summary

On 4 July 2017 at about 20:21 local time, a Piper PA28 registered N9427J, operated by Horizon Aviation, was involved in an accident near San Juan, United States. 4 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

4 July 2017 at 20:21

Classification

Accident

Location

San Juan, United States

Nearest airport

Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci (SIG)

Coordinates

18.4583, -66.0894

Aircraft

Piper PA28

Registration

N9427J

Category

Airplane

Year built

1966

Engines

1

Operator

Horizon Aviation

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

San Juan → San Juan

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA17LA227

Nobody was injured.

A partial loss of engine power during initial climb for reasons that could not be determined and the pilot's subsequent exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot reported that, before the local, personal flight, the airplane was fueled and that he performed a preflight inspection and an engine run-up with no issues noted. The takeoff was normal; however, during the initial climb, about 250 ft above ground level, the engine started to run roughly and lose power. The engine did not respond to throttle inputs. The pilot contacted the air traffic control tower and stated that he intended to return to the departure airport to land. He did not recall the remainder of the accident sequence. A passenger, who was also a certificated pilot, stated that, as the pilot was turning the airplane left back to the airport, he saw that the airspeed was decreasing and that the stall warning light was flashing. Subsequently, the airplane entered an aerodynamic stall and spun into a canal. A review of a video taken by a witness corroborated the passenger's account.   Examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Sound spectrum analysis of onboard video revealed that the engine rpm decreased by about 300 and then increased by about 300 twice but then remained steady near full power for about 6 seconds before impact. The reason for the rpm changes could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.