20190703009109A

On July 3, 2019 N1516E, a C-172N was flying low altitude operations (300 feet) over a field at hidden valley camp in monteville, ME for the purposes of conducting a candy drop at a youth camp. Investigation did not indicate that a low-altitude waiver was issued for these flight operations. Two camp counselors were on board the aircraft. After making the first low pass, the pilot attempted to climb and turn back to the field. The pilot failed to maintain control of the aircraft and allowed the airspeed to dissipate causing the aircraft to enter a stall. The pilot was unable to recover prior to making contact with the ground. The aircraft entered a wooded area and came to rest upside down. The on-scene law enforcement officer, a deputy from the waldo county sherrif's office, stated that it appeared that the aircraft was mostly destroyed except for the passenger compartment. The duputy later provided photographs supporting this statement. All three occupants were taken to a local hospital for treatment and later released. One passenger sustained a concussion. The pilot later provided the following statement:

"I took off on July 3, 2019, from kowk at 1630 with 35 gallons of fuel onboard to meet the two camp counselors, ^denica and william.^ at kbst by 1700. We loaded the aircraft with the two counselors and candy and took off towards the campground around 1710. Upon arriving at the campground, I descended to an altitude of about 300' AGL to perform a low pass and dry run. Upon completion of the run, I was climbing out with a 30-degree bank to the right to circle back around for the first drop. While in turn I neglected my airspeed and ended up in a stalling condition. Immediately upon realizing this, I started the stall recovery procedure but ran out of altitude and hit the trees below. After reaching the ground just shy of a clearing, all passengers, including myself, got unbelted and got out of the aircraft and made our way to the clearing. Once all the passengers were in the clearing, I walked back to the aircraft to shut off the mixture, masters, fuel selector, and mags while on the phone with the 911 dispatcher. After fire and EMS were on site, we were treated for minor cuts and bruises and transported to Maine medical center in belfast where we were checked out by an er doctor. ^william and I^ were discharged later that evening while ^denica^ stayed and was treated for a minor concussion."

The pilot also supplied supporting weight and balance information indicating that the aircraft was operated beyond the maximum gross takeoff weight limit for the aircraft.

The owner later informed inspector that the insurance company determined the aircraft to be destroyed and a total loss.

Root cause determined to be the airman's failure to divide attention between the local area/terrain with the airspeed of the aircraft. This inattention led to an unobserved decrease in airspeed until the stall limit was reached and the pilot was unable to recover from the stall before making contact with the ground.