Piper PA-34-200 N28HE

Summary

On 3 May 2023 at about 18:29 local time, a Piper PA-34-200 registered N28HE, operated by Wings Over Texas Holdings LLC, was involved in an accident near Coldspring, Texas, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

3 May 2023 at 18:29

Classification

Accident

Location

Coldspring, Texas, United States

Coordinates

30.5782, -95.1776

Aircraft

Piper PA-34-200

Registration

N28HE

Category

Airplane

Year built

1973

Engines

2

Operator

Wings Over Texas Holdings LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Conroe → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN23LA172

2 people were seriously injured.

The stabilator trim rod assembly separated from the stabilator link assembly due to a missing connecting bolt, which resulted in the pilot’s inability to maintain pitch control of the airplane.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot examiner, following steep turn maneuvers, they heard a loud “pop” from the tail of the airplane, the nose abruptly pitched up, and the airplane entered an accelerated stall. He took control of the airplane and added power to recover from the stall, at which time they heard another loud bang and the nose of the airplane pitched abruptly down. He reduced power to idle, there was another bang, and once again, the airplane pitched up uncontrollably. This time he did not add power and the nose of the airplane pitched down, but not as severely and he was able to use the engine power to dampen the pitch oscillations. Unable to maintain full control of the airplane, he elected for an emergency, off-airport landing. The airplane contacted trees while on approach to the field. The airplane landed hard, bounced, and slid through a rough, muddy field, which resulted in substantial damage to both wings, the fuselage, and empennage. A postaccident examination revealed that the bolt that connects the stabilator trim rod assembly to the stabilator link assembly was missing and not located. Since the bolt was not recovered, the reason for the separation could not be determined. Without being able to determine the reason for the separation, the flight school proactively inspected all same model airplanes in their fleet and replaced the bolt on each of them.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.