# Accident 20181213023479A: Piper PA-24-250, Valparaiso, IN, December 13, 2018

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 13, 2018, 10:45 local time
- Place: Valparaiso, IN
- Airport: Porter County Municipal
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Takeoff: Climb Out
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 41.4517° N, 87.0044° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.4517&lon=-87.0044&mi=10
- Aircraft: N6785P, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N6785P-2021-05-08) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-24-250 (registry code 7102404, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-24-250) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-540 series (registry code 41532, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA-24-250
- Reported engine: LYCOMING 0-540 SERIES
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 150 total, 28 in this make and model, 26 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN19FA044](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN19FA044) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20181213023479A

## Narrative

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

ON DECEMBER 13, 2018, THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND (PIC) OF N6785P, A PIPER PA-24-250 AIRCRAFT, WAS DEPARTING PORTER COUNTY REGIONAL AIRPORT (VPZ) ON A RETURN FLIGHT TO HIS HOME BASE AT GRIFFITH-MERRILLVILLE AIRPORT (05C).  THE WEATHER AT VPZ WAS CLEAR AND NOT A FACTOR.

THE PIC DEPARTED VPZ ON RUNWAY 9 AND BEGAN WHAT APPEARED TO BE A NORMAL CLIMB OUT.  AT APPROXIMATELY THE MIDFIELD POINT AND AN ESTIMATED 300 FEET AGL, THE PLANE IS SEEN ON VIDEO CAMERAS AT THE AIRPORT ENTERING A RIGHT-HAND SPIN.  THE PLANE CONTINUES IN THE SPIN UNTIL IT IMPACTED THE GROUND.  THE IMPACT POINT WAS APPROXIMATELY 4300 FEET FROM THE DEPARTURE END OF RUNWAY 9 AND APPROXIMATELY 185 FEET RIGHT OF THE RIGHT EDGE OF THE RUNWAY AND NEARLY VERTICAL IMPACT ANGLE.  THE AIRCRAFT WRECKAGE WAS WELL CONTAINED, CONSISTENT WITH THE HIGH ANGLE OF IMPACT.  THERE WAS NO POST-ACCIDENT FIRE, AND THE AIRCRAFT WAS BURIED IN THE GROUND APPROXIMATELY 1-2 FEET AROUND THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT.  POST-ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION OF THE AIRCRAFT DETERMINED THE FLIGHT CONTROLS WERE OPERATING NORMALLY AND THE ENGINE WAS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING NORMAL POWER.  DAMAGE TO THE PROPELLER IS CONSISTENT WITH THE ENGINE AT A LOW POWER SETTING AT IMPACT.

## 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 CEN19FA044](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN19FA044), Dec 13, 2018: Piper PA24 (N6785P), Valparaiso, IN, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot'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 and a subsequent aerodynamic stall…

## Other reports on N6785P (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Accident 20180321009779A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20180321009779A), Mar 21, 2018: Piper PA-24-250 (N6785P), Knox, IN, Substantial damage. Student instruction for aircraft owner. On about the 10th landing, the airplane ballooned and landed hard. The left wing was bent downward at about the halfway…

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.

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