# Accident 20040513009809A: Piper PA44180, Wittmann, AZ, May 13, 2004

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 13, 2004, 07:30 local time
- Place: Wittmann, AZ
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Maneuver
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 33.7908° N, 112.4831° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.7908&lon=-112.4831&mi=10
- Aircraft: N4144C, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N4144C-2006-08-30) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-44-180 (registry code 7104402, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-44-180) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming O&VO-360 series (registry code 41514, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-vo-360-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA44180
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 3
- Pilot flight hours: 407 total, 20 in this make and model, 70 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX04FA207](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX04FA207) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20040513009809A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(-23) ON MAY 13, 2004, AT APPROX 0730 HRS MST, A PIPER PA-44-180 AIRCRAFT, OPERATING UNDER AN INSTRUCTIONAL PART 91 FLIGHT, WAS DESTROYED DURING COLLISION WITH THE GROUND. THE THREE OCCUPANTS ON BOARD SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES. THERE WAS NO POST CRASH FIRE. THREE EYE WITNESSES STATED THAT THEY SAW THE AIRCRAFT DESCENDING IN A NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE PRIOR TO IMPACT. THEY ALSO STATED THAT THEY DID NOT HEAR THE ENGINES. THE WEATHER WAS CLEAR. THE WINDS WERE LIGHT AND VARIABLE. NO ONE ON THE GROUND WAS INJURED. END.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB LAX04FA207](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX04FA207), May 13, 2004: Piper PA-44-180 (N4144C), Wittmann, AZ, destroyed, 3 fatal. Probable cause: The flight instructor's failure to maintain sufficient airspeed to avoid a stall/spin while maneuvering the airplane with a dual student.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.