Piper PA28 N79HA

Summary

On 28 February 2020 at about 21:30 local time, a Piper PA28 registered N79HA was involved in an accident near Mount Pleasant, Tennessee, United States. 2 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

28 February 2020 at 21:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Mount Pleasant, Tennessee, United States

Nearest airport

Maury County (MRC)

Coordinates

35.5556, -87.1808

Aircraft

Piper PA28

Registration

N79HA

Category

Airplane

Year built

1973

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Mount Pleasant → Mount Pleasant

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA20LA121

Nobody was injured.

A partial loss of engine power during initial climb due to carburetor icing that formed while idling on the ground for an extended amount of time. Contributing was the flight instructor's failure to perform the recommended ground checks before takeoff.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After engine startup, the flight instructor and pilot receiving instruction discussed the soft field takeoff maneuver on the ramp for 12 to 15 minutes before taxiing to the turf runway. They did not perform an engine runup or apply carburetor heat before departing. About 900 ft down the turf runway, the airplane became airborne in ground effect. The pilot attempted twice to climb, but on both attempts the airplane settled back into ground effect. The instructor reported that the airplane did not seem to be producing sufficient power to climb. The pilot assessed the airplane's ability to clear the power lines at the edge of the airport property, made the decision to stay on the airport property, and initiated a left turn. The airplane descended and impacted the ground in a nose-low attitude. Postaccident examination of the engine revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The atmospheric conditions at the time of the accident were conducive to the formation of serious carburetor icing at low engine power settings. It is likely that during the extended ground delay, when the engine was operating at low power, carburetor ice formed, which resulted in a partial loss of engine power during the initial climb. It is also likely that the carburetor ice would have been detected or prevented prior to takeoff had the recommended pre-takeoff ground checks been completed according to the pilot's operating handbook.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.