Piper PA24 N6427P

Summary

On 27 July 2018 at about 00:07 local time, a Piper PA24 registered N6427P was involved in an accident near Palatka, Florida, 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

27 July 2018 at 00:07

Classification

Accident

Location

Palatka, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Palatka Muni - Lt Kay Larkin F (28J)

Coordinates

29.6564, -81.6886

Aircraft

Piper PA24

Registration

N6427P

Category

Airplane

Year built

1959

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Palatka → Palatka

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

ERA18FA200

2 people died.

The pilot's exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack during the initial climb after takeoff, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and a loss of control.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The accident flight was the private pilot's second solo flight in the accident airplane, which he had purchased and had first flown 13 days before the accident. A witness standing near the departure end of the runway stated that the pilot held the airplane's brakes while advancing the engine to full power, and he believed that the pilot was going to perform a short-field takeoff. As the airplane accelerated down the runway, the nosewheel lifted off then touched down again before the airplane rotated off the runway and began to climb. The witness further stated that he thought that the pilot had rotated the airplane "early," as the airplane appeared slow. The airplane's angle of climb continued to increase until, about 150 ft above ground level, the airplane entered an aerodynamic stall and spiraled to the ground. Examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or abnormalities that would have precluded normal operation. Between the time of purchase and the accident flight, the pilot logged about 15 hours of flight instruction in the airplane; logbook remarks indicated that, during those flights, the pilot had received instruction in normal and crosswind takeoffs and landings. Autopsy and toxicology testing of the pilot identified no evidence of physiological impairment or incapacitation. The lack of mechanical anomalies, the witness statement, and the surveillance video footage are consistent with the pilot's exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack during the initial climb after takeoff, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and a subsequent loss of control.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.