Tecnam P2002 N118LS

Summary

On 8 April 2019 at about 21:38 local time, a Tecnam P2002 registered N118LS was involved in an accident near Santa Fe, New Mexico, 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

8 April 2019 at 21:38

Classification

Accident

Location

Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States

Nearest airport

Santa Fe Muni (SAF)

Coordinates

35.6219, -106.1034

Aircraft

Tecnam P2002

Registration

N118LS

Category

Airplane

Year built

2006

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Santa Fe → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR19FA106

2 people died.

The flight instructor’s failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the initial climb after takeoff, which resulted in an exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack, an aerodynamic stall, and loss of control.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor and student pilot were conducting a touch-and-go landing. Surveillance footage showed that, shortly after takeoff, the airplane appeared to stop climbing. The right wing then dropped and the airplane entered a steep, nose-down attitude and impacted the ground. A postimpact fire ensued. Examination of the airframe and engine revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. At the time of the accident, the density altitude was calculated to be about 8,600 ft. Given the available evidence, it is likely that the engine’s performance was degraded by the high density altitude and the airplane’s critical angle of attack was exceeded during the initial climb after takeoff, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and loss of control.  

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.